Assessment of heavy metal contamination of soils and plants in and around open cast mines of Sukinda, India

Abstract

Mining activities generate huge amount of wastes with extremely high concentrations\rof heavy metal that have adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Metal contamination\rextended several kilometers away from the mine sites probably by wind and water. Native vegetation\rwas directly affected by the pollution. Hence, understanding the dynamic of metals in soil and plants\ris essential for ecosystem management and risk assessment. The present study was designed to\rassess the toxic metals viz., lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) present in the soil\rand plant samples of 18 plant species collected from nearby areas Sukinda chromite mining zone.\rSamples of soil and plants were collected from six different sites and were analyzed for pH, EC, Cr, Cd,\rPb and Ni by pH meter, conductivity meter and atomic absorption spectrophotometer, respectively.\rSoil pH was slightly acidic in nature and varied from 5.5 to 6.4. Total heavy metal concentrations in\rsoils were in the order of Cr> Ni> Pb> Cd. Cr and Ni exceed the critical limit value of WHO specified\rstandard. Accumulation of metals in the plant species and in their organs varies, e.g. accumulation of\rheavy metal was higher in stem as compared to leaf. Ailanthus excelea Roxb. has highest capability\rfor accumulating Cr in the shoot part as compared to other collected plants. The plants can ideally be\rused as the possible application in agricultural reconnaissance surveys, reclamation and revegetationof adversely affected mining environment.