Environmental & Analytical Toxicology

Heavy Metal Ions Levels and Related Physicochemical Parameters in Soils in The Vicinity of a Paper Industry Location in Nahan Area of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Mamta Chhabra Sharma, Shalini Baxi, Kaushal K Sharma, Manpreet Singh and Shashank Patel

Background concentrations of heavy metal ions concentration in soils are important due to their pollution potential and toxic effect of these elements on human health and the environment. These metals in soils in the vicinity of paper manufacturing industry were studied. Concentrations of these heavy metal ions (e.g., Pb, Zn, Cd,Cr) were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (A.A.S). The findings revealed that the average concentrations of these metals in soil samples were three to ten times higher than the permissible limits. Levels of these trace metals in the industrial environment were generally high, indicating that the activities of paper industry and associated processes contributed to the observed higher levels of trace metals in the industry environment. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of these heavy metals in the soil and to ascertain the pollution status.