Study of Heavy Metal Contamination in Industrial Soils of Aurangabad Using GIS Techniques

The main objective of the present study is to assess the level of contamination, source identification, and health risk assessment of heavy metals in the industrial soils of Aurangabad. A total of 15 Soil samples were collected with a sampling density of 3–5 composite soil samples from 0–10 cm surface soil, analyzed heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Cu) using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The geographical information system (GIS) technology like Kriging and inverse distance weighted interpolation (IDW) was used for the preparation of spatial distribution maps. A significant spatial relationship was found for Ni, Cd, Zn, Pb, and Cu in the soils using a GIS-based analysis, suggesting that these metal contaminants in the industrial area had common sources. Assess the risks of contamination for heavy metals in the soil were assessed based on a geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and contamination factor (CF). According to the Igeo and CF, most of the samples vary between 0 to 1, unpolluted to moderately polluted except Cd values. Most of the measured heavy metals showed the highest availability in top soils collected from around the steel and metal industries of the Waluj MIDC area. Also, based on the outcomes of the health risk assessment, particular attention should be paid to Ni, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr and Cu in the industrial soils of Aurangabad. This study is socially beneficial for prevailing human health hazards in such industrially populated regions.