Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex

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Sheikhi Almanabad Zahra; Pirkharrati Hossein; Mojarrad Monir

Title

Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex

Author(s)

Sheikhi Almanabad Zahra | Pirkharrati Hossein | Mojarrad Monir | Issue Writer Certificate

Keywords

Angouran mineral processing complexQ1

anthropogenicQ1

ecological riskQ1

enrichmentQ1

Abstract

Introduction: The intensity of human activities throughout the recent decades has led to significant changes in the balance of nature. Recent industrial development has resulted in a remarkable increase in pollution loads imposed by toxicmetals, which are a significant environmental hazard for invertebrates, fish, and humans. The factories which concentrate and process heavy metals increase their levels in the soil. Exposure to heavy metals increases the possibility of health risks for residents in the area. Soil is a bed to accumulation of nutrient and pollutant and plays an important role in environmental sustainability. Among all types of soil pollutants, heavy metals are considered as a major threat to environmental health due to their non-degradability in the environment and their long life span. Heavy metals are naturally present in the earth's crust. Rocks and minerals have a high impact on the concentration of elements in the soil and sometimes increase the elements concentration in the soil beyond the permitted level. Besides, the human activities such as mining and related processing cause heavy metals propagation in the environment. Angouran mineral processing complex includes lead and zinc concentration complexes along with the zinc factory and is located in Dandi Industrial Zone in the Mahneshan, Zanjan province in Iran. AMPC has a production capacity of over 23, 000 tons per year and is one of the largest producers of Iran with more than four decades of operation. It is located in the Angouran protected area which is one of the oldest protected areas of Iran with a total area of 1, 250 km2. Almost 300 km2 of this area constitutes the Angouran wildlife refuge. Ghizil Ozen and Angouran Chay rivers flow through the area, which is home to dozens of aquatic bird species, seven amphibian species and eight fish species. Many of the rare animals of Iran are found in this area. There are about 200 plant species in Angouran. It is located in a protected area and expands metal industries. The main activities of its inhabitants are agriculture and animal husbandry. The area which is under cultivation of agricultural and horticultural products in Mahneshan city comprises 11% of the total area of Zanjan province. Moreover, 81% of this area is utilized for the cultivation of annual agricultural products and 19% of it is used for the cultivation of horticultural products. The accumulation of industrial, agricultural and animal husbandry poles along with the habitats of different species in one area can potentially have some environmental problems which need to be investigated. This issue stems from the fact that the development of industrial activities, especially processing and concentrating units of heavy metals, increases the concentration of these metals in soil and other environmental sources and exposes humans to them. These elements gradually accumulate in the soil due to low mobility, and their entry into the food cycle and the environment causes problems for human health and other living organism. Studies showed that in Dandi industrial zone, the environment of the region, was negatively affected by the accumulation of waste being left as cake on the margins of rivers and streams or open (mainly agricultural) lands. This cake, which is in fact waste from flotation and smelting of lead and zinc and concentrate production processes, may have lost most of its lead and zinc from an industrial perspective. However, from an environmental point of view, it contains amounts of other potentially toxic elements including As, Cr and Co which greatly exceed the allowable limits. Moreover, their study showed that waste pools or effluent pools were another major risk factor for the environment of the region. The agricultural soil of this area was affected by these contaminants and had major environmental anomalies. Hence, the purposes of this study were to determine the spatial pattern of Zn, Pb and Cd spreading around Angouran mineral processing complex, to investigate their potential risk using different environmental indices, to identify ecological risk and carcinogenic risk, and to determine the contribution of anthropogenic and geogenic origin. Materials and Methods: Angouran mineral processing complex, with geographical coordinate of 36° 34′ 20 ˝ N and 47° 37′ 40˝ E. The area is located in a metamorphic complex of the Sanandaj-Sirjan microplate in the Zagros orogenic belt affected by the Tertiary to Quaternary volcanic activities as well as the geothermal activities of the Urumieh-Dokhtar zone. It is composed of the present age river banks and alluvial deposits in the center along with conglomerate and red tuffs in the northern part. About 15% of the area is irrigated and its 70% is used as pastures. It has been one of the protected areas of the environment and has enabled tourism activities in order to preserve and restore plant and animal habitats for four decades until the present day. Soil sampling was done from 0-20 cm depth in June 2016 (n=74). After preparation of the samples, they were sent to the Zarazma laboratory for analysis of Zn, Pb and Cd by ICP-OES. In order to analyze the total concentration of heavy metals, the samples were digested using the four-acid digestion method, including hydrofluoric acid, perchloric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. For this purpose, each air-dried sample was weighted in a crucible, 5 ml concentrated nitric acid was added to it, and it was kept at ambient temperature for 30 min. Then, 10 ml of perchloric acid and 2 ml of concentrated hydrofluoric acid were added to it. It was placed on a heater, and its temperature was increased to 100° C. Since this method's goal was the complete digestion of the solid sample, the addition of hydrofluoric acid continued until the sample became transparent. In the end, 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added, and the sample was kept at the same temperature for 10 min. After the sample was cooled, it was transferred to a 50 to 100-ml volumetric flask, and it was brought up to the volume using double-distilled water. All chemicals used in this study were provided by the credible German Merck brand. Analytical duplicates/replicates, standard reference material (OREAS 24b, and GBM908-10), and blank reagents (with an accuracy of 4% to 6%) were used for QA/QC. The detection limits for Cr, Co, As, Ni and Cu were 1, 1, 0/5 and 1, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data and index calculations were performed using Excel and SPSS software. Also, PMF 5. 0 EPA (Positive Matrix Factorization) software was used to determine the source contribution to metal dispersion. Applied indices include enrichment factor (Ef), Geoaccumulation index (Igeo), pollution load indices (PLI) and modified pollution degree (mCd), ecological risk potential (PERI) and cancer risks (CR). Discussion of Results Soil in the study area is in a poor and serious condition that threats agriculture and animal husbandry, the main activities beside the industrials. Zn had the highest concentration with an average of 1648. 1 ppm in the region and fallowed by Pb and Cd with mean of 467. 9 and 9. 8 ppm, respectively. The high coefficients of variation of metals showed the effect of anthropogenic activities on their distribution in the region. The Igeo mean for Pb, Zn, and Cd were 1. 7, 2. 0, and 0. 4, respectively, which indicated average contamination of Pb and Zn and non-contaminated to intermediate contamination of Cd. Igeo's result showed that the metals accumulation order was Zn> Pb> Cd. The extent of metal contamination was-2. 4 to 8. 9 for Pb,-0. 4 to 8. 3 for Zn, and-2. 4 to 7. 1 in terms of Cd, suggesting negative values for these metals which are in the range of non-polluted soils. High Cd contamination was observed only in 4. 9% of the samples while EF showed high Cd enrichment (72/1). The mean Ef calculated for Zn, Pb and Cd were 37. 1, 45. 7 and 72. 1, respectively, suggesting strong enrichment for Zn and Pb, but extremely strong for Cd. Cd is the most mobile metal in the soil and is likely to be absorbed through the plants roots. The enrichment degree for all three metals in the region is wide. Contamination severity (Ff>10) in total observed for Zn, Pb and Cd in 29. 6%, 25. 6% and 59. 4% of samples, respectively, which indicates very high impact of anthropogenic contamination sources. Given the various toxic effects of metals on the human body, the PERI index of metals in the soil varies from 42. 8 to 35500. 5 and showed a high environmental risk for Cd than for Zn and Pb. Based on classification, 35% of sampling points showed high ecological risk. The metal contamination degree in the soil was higher than expected. In the study area, mCd ranged from 0. 8 to 723. 4 and 60% of the samples showed high contamination. PLI calculation showed that contamination range is between 0. 7 and 627. 8. The contamination range calculated by mCd and PLI revealed that 60% and 40% of the area is in very poor and inappropriate condition. CR for adults ranges from 0. 2×10-2 to 0. 5×10-5 while the mean is 0. 1×10-3. Unexpectedly, Zn with an impact of 96. 9% had the highest share in the carcinogenic risk of ingested contaminated soil. CR for children varies from 0. 4×10-2 to 0. 9×10-5 with a mean of 0. 2×10-3. Similar to the results obtained from adult CR, Zn with 99. 1% had the greatest effect on the carcinogenesis probability due to ingestion. Based on the CR classification, the risk was middle and upper class for children. The CR calculation for children and adults showed that the ingestion risk of contaminated soils contain Zn had the greatest effect on the risk of carcinogenicity and health problems. Absorption via skin and respiration of Zn, Pb and Cd were the next highest risk factors. PMF model was used to quantify the different sources contribution in Cd, Zn and Pb pollution. Comparing the metals prevalence in each factor and the information obtained from the regional field for the probable source of heavy metals, two factors were considered to the probable source of the heavy metals. Geogenic origin was the first-factor and anthropogenic origin was the second one. According to the results, the concentration of Zn in the second factor was 99% while in the first factor was 1%. Pb and Cd the second factor were estimated to be 90. 2% and 95. 7%. Conclusions: This study was carried out to investigate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of Zn, Pb and Cd in the soil around Angouran mineral processing complex, which includes lead and zinc concentration complexes and zinc production factory. This area was selected due to the fact that it is environmentally sensitive. Moreover, in addition to industrial activities including the concentration and processing of heavy metals, it is used for agricultural activities, pastures, and animal husbandry. Lastly, it is the habitat for various and rare animal and plant species. Concentration result showed that the metals order was Zn> Pb> Cd. It can be concluded from the Igeo and Ef index that samples collected from this area have enriched and contaminated by the examined heavy metals. Based on PERI classification, most of sampling points showed high ecological risk and showed a high environmental risk for Cd than for Zn and Pb in the study area. mCd and PLI result showed a significant risk in agricultural land use. In developing countries, there are very few studies which have examined the exposure to heavy metals. Soil and dust ingestion was a potential source of exposure to environmental chemicals for both adults and children. Children may, in particular, consume large amounts of soil because of their tendency to play on the ground and carry the soil coated objects to their mouths. Due to the wide range of industrial activities in the region, agriculture in the study area poses a greater risk of carcinogenicity for the adult population. This issue stems from the fact that the farmers’ ingestion of soli particles which stick to their hands, dermal exposure during farm work hours, or inhalation of polluted soil and dust pose a higher risk. According to an obtained results from PMF model, the greatest impact on Zn concentration in the region is due to anthropogenic activities. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the risk of exposure to soil metals in order to maintain the health of the residents' health and sustainability of the environment and animals in the area, including soil refining.

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APA: Copy

Sheikhi Almanabad, Zahra, Pirkharrati, Hossein, & Mojarrad, Monir. (2020). Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, 46(1 ), 173-194. SID. https://sid.ir/paper/387372/en

Vancouver: Copy

Sheikhi Almanabad Zahra, Pirkharrati Hossein, Mojarrad Monir. Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES[Internet]. 2020;46(1 ):173-194. Available from: https://sid.ir/paper/387372/en

IEEE: Copy

Zahra Sheikhi Almanabad, Hossein Pirkharrati, and Monir Mojarrad, “Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex,” JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, vol. 46, no. 1 , pp. 173–194, 2020, [Online]. Available: https://sid.ir/paper/387372/en

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Scientific Information Database

ISSN: 2588-4824

Journal Paper

Evaluation of Risk Potentials and Determination of Zn, Pb and Cd Source in Soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex