Application and Evaluation of Some Pollution Indices in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil

Abstract

Egypt may soon suffer from water problems due to many factors, including the intransigence of upstream countries in addition to climate change and various pollution factors. Under these circumstances, many farmers are forced to use sewage water for irrigation, which may eventually lead to deterioration of soil and environmental quality. Therefore, the present investigation aims to assess
the implication associated with using sewage effluent water in irrigation for long period on some soil properties and to assess soil contamination using some pollution indices Results revealed that the sewage effluent water had elevated contents of TN (25.9ppm), P (2.75ppm) and K (1.65ppm) confirming that it may be considered as low- price fertilizer. Also, the physicochemical parameters of
the water, such as water acidity (pH 7.7) water salinity and EC1.175dS/m, NH4 1.19 ppm, Fe 0.648ppm, Pb 0.45ppm), Zn (0.425ppm) Co(0.46ppm) and Cu (0. 0.33 ppm) were within the permissible limits reported by FAO (1976). Meanwhile Mn (0.42ppm) >Ni (0.31ppm)> Cd (0.083ppm) contents were above. In sewage amended soils the present data revealed that prolonged use of sewage water irrigation over 100-yerars led to detectable increases in all the tested soil parameters, except for CaCO3 content (Table,2). On mean basis, clay content, EC, and pH increased by (8.15, 2, and 1.04 times) over the control soil, referring to high influence of sewage water
irrigation on soil texture as well as soil salinization.