Evaluation of Heavy Metal Pollution on Soil in Vaderbijlpark, South Africa

In this study, inductive coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) is employed for the evaluation of soil pollution for selected metals in the Vanderbijlpark area of South Africa. Soil samples investigated were collected from five different sites in the city based on their proximity to the industrial areas of Vanderbijlpark. Soil samples were collected from close to traffic robots, farms, township schools, Iemas garage and central East 5 (CE5) suburbs. The results obtained show metal levels at the robot decrease in the order Pb > Zn > V > Bi > Ni > Li > As > Sn > Co > Cu > Mo > Sb > Hg > Se; at the farm they decrease in the order Pb > Zn > Bi > Li > Sn > As > V > Cu > Mo > Sb > Ni > Co > Cd > Se > Hg; in the township school they decrease in the order Pb > Zn > Cu > Li > V > Sn > As > Ni > Bi > Mo > Sb > Co > Cd > Se > Hg; at the Iemas garage the decreasing order is Pb > Zn > V > Li > Sn > As > Bi > Cu > Ni > Mo > Co > Cd > Se > Hg > Sb and in the CE5 suburb the decreasing order is Pb > Zn > V > Li > As > Cu > Sn > Ni> Mo > Co > Bi > Cd > Sb > Se > Hg. In all the sample points, the levels of lead (Pb) was found to be high, particularly at the farm and the township school area. However, the concentrations of all other metals at all the sampling points were within the US-EPA maximum allowable limits.