Original Articles
Hind Suhail Abdulhay and Munth
Abstract
Concentrations of lead, cadmium and nickel in soils and leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in different areas (AL-Záfaraniya, AL-Jadryia and Jisr Diyala) at Baghdad were investigated. Soil and plant samples were collected from roadsides at distances of 0, 10 and 50 meter. Analysis was accomplished by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) after total digestion. The results revealed a significant difference in the concentrations between soil and plant leaves. Heavy metal contents in the soil and plant leaves were found in the following order: lead > nickel > cadmium. The soil from Al-Záfaranya had the higher concentration of lead and cadmium reached 170.42 and 12.16 ppm, respectively. While, Jisr Diyala soil sample was higher in nickel as 37.54 ppm. According to Eu Standards, concentration of Pb and Cd were found above the acceptable limits in the soil sample at the three areas. While the concentration of Ni was within the recommended limit. The effect of traffic emissions appeared through decreased the concentrations of heavy metals in soil and plant leaves as the distance from the road increase. These findings suggest that a special attention should be paid to this traffic related environmental issue and a serious effort is required to reduce these highest levels by soil remediation.