Spatial-based assessment of heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils surrounding a non-ferrous metal smelting zone.

This work aimed to assess the degree of anthropogenic influence and severity of heavy metal from a non-ferrous metal smelting industrial zone. The results suggested that anthropogenic inputs played a dominant role in the enrichment of Cu, Zn, Pb, Sb and Cd. These metals showed similar spatial distribution patterns. Multivariate analysis showed strongly significant relationships between Cu-Zn,Cd-Zn, Cd-Sb, Sb, Sb, Cu, Zn, and Pb. Strong relationship was found between Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sb and organic matter in soil. Risk evaluation results within the soil investigated profile was in the following order: Cd > Sb > Cu > Zn > Pb. Nemerow's synthetical contamination index revealed that there is substantial ecotoxicological risk among the sampling sites with 8 of 9 of these locations exceeding the Nemerow criteria for seriously impacted sites and another site was close to moderately polluted domain.