Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China

Various studies have shown that soils surrounding mining areas are seriously polluted by heavy metals. In this study, 58 topsoil samples were systematically collected throughout the coal mining city Wuhai, located within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The concentrations of As, Hg, Cr...

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Main Authors: Qingwei Bu, Qingshan Li, Handan Zhang, Hongmei Cao, Wenwen Gong, Xin Zhang, Ke Ling, Yibo Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Journal of Chemistry
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4705954
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author Qingwei Bu
Qingshan Li
Handan Zhang
Hongmei Cao
Wenwen Gong
Xin Zhang
Ke Ling
Yibo Cao
author_facet Qingwei Bu
Qingshan Li
Handan Zhang
Hongmei Cao
Wenwen Gong
Xin Zhang
Ke Ling
Yibo Cao
author_sort Qingwei Bu
collection DOAJ
description Various studies have shown that soils surrounding mining areas are seriously polluted by heavy metals. In this study, 58 topsoil samples were systematically collected throughout the coal mining city Wuhai, located within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The concentrations of As, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in these samples were measured and statistically analyzed. The mean concentrations of all heavy metals were lower than their Grade I values defined by the Chinese Soil Quality Standard. However, the mean concentrations of individual heavy metals in many samples exceeded their background values. The spatial distribution of heavy metals was analyzed by the ordinary kriging interpolation method. The positive matrix factorization model was used to ascertain contamination sources of the eight heavy metals and to apportion the contribution of each source. The most severely polluted area was the Wuhushan mine site in the Wuda district of Wuhai. Our results showed that coal mining strongly affected heavy metal contamination of the local soils. Results of source apportionment indicated that contributions from industrial activities, atmospheric deposition, agricultural activities, and natural sources were 31.3%, 26.3%, 21.9%, and 20.5%, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that anthropogenic activities have markedly higher contribution rates than natural sources to heavy metal pollution in soils in this area.
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language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-58d2a5e8d12845f99df0464502c5ab662025-08-20T02:05:23ZengWileyJournal of Chemistry2090-90632090-90712020-01-01202010.1155/2020/47059544705954Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, ChinaQingwei Bu0Qingshan Li1Handan Zhang2Hongmei Cao3Wenwen Gong4Xin Zhang5Ke Ling6Yibo Cao7School of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaBeijing Research Center for Agricultural Standards and Testing, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaVarious studies have shown that soils surrounding mining areas are seriously polluted by heavy metals. In this study, 58 topsoil samples were systematically collected throughout the coal mining city Wuhai, located within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The concentrations of As, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in these samples were measured and statistically analyzed. The mean concentrations of all heavy metals were lower than their Grade I values defined by the Chinese Soil Quality Standard. However, the mean concentrations of individual heavy metals in many samples exceeded their background values. The spatial distribution of heavy metals was analyzed by the ordinary kriging interpolation method. The positive matrix factorization model was used to ascertain contamination sources of the eight heavy metals and to apportion the contribution of each source. The most severely polluted area was the Wuhushan mine site in the Wuda district of Wuhai. Our results showed that coal mining strongly affected heavy metal contamination of the local soils. Results of source apportionment indicated that contributions from industrial activities, atmospheric deposition, agricultural activities, and natural sources were 31.3%, 26.3%, 21.9%, and 20.5%, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that anthropogenic activities have markedly higher contribution rates than natural sources to heavy metal pollution in soils in this area.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4705954
spellingShingle Qingwei Bu
Qingshan Li
Handan Zhang
Hongmei Cao
Wenwen Gong
Xin Zhang
Ke Ling
Yibo Cao
Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
Journal of Chemistry
title Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
title_full Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
title_fullStr Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
title_full_unstemmed Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
title_short Concentrations, Spatial Distributions, and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Soils of the Coal Mining City Wuhai, China
title_sort concentrations spatial distributions and sources of heavy metals in surface soils of the coal mining city wuhai china
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4705954
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