TITLE:
Potential Groundwater Pollution Risks by Heavy Metals from Agricultural Soil in Songon Area (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)
AUTHORS:
Innocent K. Kouamé, Lazare K. Kouassi, Brou Dibi, Kouamé M. Adou, Ioan D. Rascanu, Gheorghe Romanescu, Issiaka Savané, Ion Sandu
KEYWORDS:
Songon; Soil; Heavy Metals; Pollution Indices; Groundwater Pollution Risk; Abidjan
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
18,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The soil samples were collected taking into account the land use in Songon area. The hydraulic conductivity (K) of soils was characterized in-situ when specific yield (Sy), pHw and concentrations of Cooper, Iron, Zinc, Cadmium, Chromium and Lead were measured in the laboratory. Pollution load indices (PLI) were calculated to evaluate the soil contamination levels. The soils were neutral and alkaline (6.7≤ pH ≤ 9.20), permeable (1.9 í 10-5m·s-1≤ K ≤ 8.2 í 10-4m·s-1), with a high specific yield (13.33% ≤ Sy ≤ 33.33%) which can favor the pollutants transfer. The heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr and Pb) have very high concentrations in soils. The integrated pollution indices (PLI) indicate that almost 70% of Songon soils are moderately contaminated by the investigated heavy metals, with windows presenting high indices of pollution related to the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides. The establishment of new boreholes in the Songon area should consider these heavy metals, so as to avoid the risk of groundwater pollution due to the physical properties of soils.