soil chromium concentrations spatial changes around behbahan cement factory

environmental pollution by various pollutants is one of the most important problems of this century. at least 20 elements, including chromium have been classified in toxic metals group, that half of them are released in the environment in excessive amounts of standards. chromium is a toxic pollutant that is widely spread in the environment and exists in cement and concrete. the aim of this study is measurement of chromium concentrations in samples of surface soil area around and inside the cement plant. 26 random samples were collected and analyzed from the inner yard of cement plant and 29 samples from different directions and radii in the range from 520-3150 m around the plant with considering topography limitations, ac/aq techniques and sampling size number . soil samples were prepared for flame aas analyzing by international standard method (iso 11466). the chromium concentration in soil samples around the plant is 29.06±3.53 mg/kg and inside the plant samples is 42.11±11/08 mg/kg that these values are lower than the standard set for chromium (100 mg/kg). contamination levels were estimated based on the igeo. the indices showed a level of contamination of the metal chromium is uncontaminated to moderately contaminated. anova test results showed cr concentration difference between inside and outside the factory was significant (p value = 0.05). this factory in terms of trace element chromium is not a pollutant.