A GIS Based Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination in Surface Soil of Urban Parks: A Case Study of Faisalabad City-Pakistan

Abstract

The study investigated the environmental attribute of urban parks for risk assessment due to heavy metals mobilization into biosphere. Sixteen busiest urban parks located in the city of Faisalabad were analyzed for the Copper, Zinc, Nickel and Lead contamination. The research foundation was derived through the experimental observations. Analytical determinations of heavy metals contents were performed by ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) optical emission spectroscopy. Multivariate Geospatial analyses were performed, using GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques and statistical analysis with the help of SPSS 14. The investigations revealed that the metals mean concentration in the study area ranged from 25.02-111.15, 13.83-53.23, 9.30-26.00 and 0.00-18.93 mg/Kg for Zinc, Copper, Nickel and Lead respectively. One of the sites among the selected urban parks was reported to cross the acceptable limits for the Copper contamination in the soil which is pertinent to hepatic and basal ganglia degeneration.