Assessment of trace elements in soils around Zaheerabad Town, Medak District, Andhra Pradesh, India

The concentration of trace elements such as As, Ba, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, V, Y, and Zr was studied in soils around Zaheerabad Town, Medak District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The soil type in the study area is clayey and lateritic. The application of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture has contributed to the continuous accumulation of trace elements in soils. The contamination of the soils was assessed by comparing trace element concentration with natural background values for clayey and lateritic soils. Fifty soil samples have been analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The concentration ranges of Cu (76.4-213.1 mg/kg) and Pb (4.2-50.1 mg/kg) are exceeding natural background limit and other trace element concentration like Co (44.4-85.7 mg/kg), Cr (138.8-348.5 mg/kg), Ni (12-50.1 mg/kg), V (56.3-779.3 mg/kg) and Zn (71.2-133.7 mg/kg) are within permissible limit. The soil contamination was estimated on the basis of Index of geoaccumulation (I (geo)), enrichment ratio (ERn) [or enrichment factor (EF)], contamination factor (CF) and degree of contamination (C (deg)). The concentration of above-mentioned elements was similar to the levels in the earth's crust pointed to metal depletion in the soil as the EF was < 1. Cu and Pb showed high EF in the soil samples indicating that there is a considerable heavy metal pollution, which could be correlated with the agricultural activity in the area. A contamination site poses significant environmental hazards for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They are important sources of pollution and may result in ecotoxicological effects on terrestrial, groundwater and aquatic ecosystems.