Heavy metal pollution assessment in the agricultural soils of Bonao, Dominican Republic
Heavy metal pollution assessment in the agricultural soils of Bonao, Dominican Republic
Date
2023-12-02
Authors
Miledy Alberto
Ramón Delanoy
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Abstract
Heavy metal content in agricultural soils potentially impacts the food chain and human
health. The present study assessed the levels of heavy metals in topsoil samples collected
within an agricultural region situated in Bonao, Dominican Republic. The Energy-Dispersive
X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique was utilized to measure the concentrations of iron
(Fe), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and
arsenic (As) in the samples. The assessment of soil pollution status and potential ecological
risk (RI) involved the utilization of various soil pollution indices, such as the single pollution
index (PI), integrated pollution index (IPI), and enrichment factor (EF). The average total
concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, and As were 103,000, 2000, 347, 36, 92, 32,
9.6, and 4.2 mg·kg−1, respectively. The results showed that the Mn, Ni, Cu, and As levels
exceeded the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s recommended levels for healthy
agricultural soils. The distribution pattern of each individual metal was different, indicating
they had different sources of origin. The average pollution indices indicated low-to-moderate
pollution, and the potential ecological risk obtained was low. This study emphasizes the need
for soil management practices to mitigate heavy metal contamination for food safety and
environmental health.
Description
Keywords
Física, Metales pesados
Citation
Then, N. M. A., Delanoy, R., Rodríguez Alberto, D., Méndez Henández, R., Díaz Rizo, O., & Bello, L. (2023). Heavy metal pollution assessment in the agricultural soils of Bonao, Dominican Republic. Sustainability, 15(16510).