Assessment of Heavy and Trace Metals in Surface Soil Nearby an Oil Refinery, Saudi Arabia, Using Geoaccumulation and Pollution Indices

• Published in: Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 75; no. 3; pp. 390 - 401
• Main Authors: Alshahri, Fatimh, El-Taher, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Background levels; Cadmium; Chromium; Cities; Contamination; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Emission analysis; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Hafnium; Heavy metals; Lead; Metal concentrations; Metals; Metals - analysis; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Molybdenum; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Oil and Gas Industry; Oil refineries; Pollution; Pollution index; Refineries; Saudi Arabia; Soil contamination; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil pollution; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil surfaces; Soils; Trace metals; Ytterbium; Saudi Arabia
• ISSN: 0090-4341; 1432-0703
• DOI: 10.1007/s00244-018-0531-0

The present study deals with the measurement of heavy and trace metals in the soils of Ras Tanura city nearby one of the oldest and largest oil refineries located on Arabian Gulf, eastern Saudi Arabia. Metals were analyzed in 34 surface soil samples using plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICPE-9820). The result showed that the mean values of the metals concentrations were in the order: Cd > Mo > Tb > Ce > Hf > Eu > Yb > U > Sm > Rb > Cr > Ni > Pb > Sc > Cs > Zn > Lu > Co. The mean values of Cd (39.9 mg/kg), Mo (13.2 mg/kg), Eu (4.01 mg/kg), Hf (6.09 mg/kg), Tb (8.23 mg/kg), and Yb (3.88) in soil samples were higher than the background values in soil and the world average. The obtained results indicated to elevated levels of Cd and Mo in most samples, with mean concentrations exceeded the background levels by 113 times for Cd and 5 times for Mo. Pollution index (PI) and Geoaccumulation ( I geo ) for each metal were calculated to assess the metal contamination level of surface soil in the study area. The assessment results of PI and I geo revealed a significant pollution by Cd, Mo, Eu, Hf, Tb, and Yb in most of sampling sites nearby Ras Tanura refinery.