The analysis of water and soil in Zarghan plain in terms of contamination by heavy metals

Abstract

The developments of industries produce wastewaters containing hazardous chemicals and heavy-metallic elements. These wastewaters may be harmful if they are used as drinking water for watering plants. Zarghan plain is situated near Shiraz, Iran, and devoted to agriculture and horticulture. The water that is used for irrigation of this land is extracted from deep and semi-deep wells, where treated wastewater from 135 factories and industrial workshops exists. In this study, some of water shafts have been selected for testing of contamination by heavy metallic elements, and 140 samples were extracted from them in four seasons of a year. Every sample was tested two times for heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and nickel. The given tests have indicated that the content of the existing heavy metals in the waters of these wells are at normal levels, and their rate did not exceed the permitted level.

Keywords

• heavy metals
• wastewaters
• water well (shaft)
• zarghan plain