Assessment of Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr and Co in the Soils of Badin area, Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr and Co in the soils of district Badin, Sindh, Pakistan. Badin is located near coastal area of Sindh province. Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain (KPOD) and the Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD) elevates storm-runoff, agricultural excessive water, industrial and municipal effluents to the Arabian Sea passing through area. Due to natural disasters such as cyclones and floods the LBOD has inundated this area many times which has caused adverse effects on the chemistry of soils. For the assessment of heavy and trace metals such as Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr and Co, representative soil samples were collected from different parts of the study area and were analyzed. The results were compared with international standards. The data indicates that the concentration of Pb is 12 to 37 mg/kg-1, Zn 61 to 615 mg/kg-1, Ni 23 to 64 mg/kg-1, Cr 29 to 69 mg/kg-1 and Co 23 to 49 mg/kg-1 in the studied soil samples. The data further indicate that the current results are above the permissible limits proposed for the environmentally safe agricultural soils. However, Cu contents are found within the acceptable limit in majority of the samples except village Haji Hajjam, Ali Bangali, Qasim Mallah, Guni, and Ahmed Rajo. It is, therefore, recommended that the appropriate measures should be taken for the proper management and remediation of the soils of Badin district.