Original Articles
Sreenivasulu M, Prakash K, Che
Abstract
Heavy Metals (HMs) are the important polluting substances which are commonly emitted to the environment from industrial zones, particularly cement manufacturing units. They not only enter the soils but also reached to the food chain via biomagnifications. Here in the present study we made a thorough investigation of soil and plant samples in and around the agricultural lands nearby the cement factories located in Yerraguntla for heavy metals concentration. This industrial town is notable for cement manufacturing units located in the Rayalaseema region, YSR Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The selected soil sampling locations for the study are Nallingayapalle, Jamba puram, Thurakapalle and Appayapalli labeled as S1, S2, S3 and S4, respectively. In addition, the famous crops cultivated in the agricultural lands closer to this industrial zone also selected for the study. They are Oryza sativa, Gossypium hirsutum, Arachis hypogaea, Helianthus annuus, Allium cepa and Solanum lycopersicum with the common names of rice, cotton, ground nuts, sunflower, onions, and tomatoes respectively. The soil samples were collected from the surface in 5-10 cm depth and the plant sampling was done with the selected healthy plants during December 2019. The samples analyzed to determine their HMs (Lead, Nickel, Chromium, Cobalt, Boron, Copper, Iron, Manganese and Zinc etc) by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results showed that the level of heavy metals concentration does not exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards and it was ascribed that the source for the pollutants is not only cement industry but also motor vehicle emissions.