Investigation of heavy metal soil concentration (Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu) in different areas of Isfahan in 1396

Heavy metals contamination of soils is one of the main environmental problems. Heavy metals are considered as one most dangerous groups of pollutants because of their toxicity and stability. The biological and ecological importance of heavy metals is due to their characteristics of polluting, their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution of heavy metals in the different north areas of Isfahan.
In the present study, 30 soil samples (0-20 cm depth) were randomly collected and the total concentration of Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu were measured using Perkin Elmer's atomic absorption device. Also, some other soil properties including pH, EC, organic carbon, soil texture and organic matter proportions were measured. The inverse distance weighting (IDW) method was used for interpolation and mapping of the heavy metals concentration.
Findings: The results showed that the average concentrations of Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu in the study area were 47/16, 2/26, 57/35 and 22/31 mg/kg respectively. Also the results of statistical analysis showed that the standard deviations of Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu in the study area were 7.13, 0.51, 5.56 and 2.84 respectively.
The results indicate that the averageconcentrations of Pb and Cd in the soil of study area were higher than the global standard and Cu and Zn were lower than the global standard.