Purpose

To identify the sources and levels of contamination with anthropogenically derived heavy metals (HMs) for appropriate pollution control. We quantified anthropogenic influences with respect to HM pollution in soil, based on multiple pollution indices and cluster analysis derived from the results of an annual nationwide survey conducted in Korea.

Methods

Contamination levels of HMs in soils were quantitatively evaluated using multiple pollution indices: contamination factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (I_geo), Nemerow’s integrated pollution index (NIPI), and pollution load index (PLI). Hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to elucidate the correlations between HMs and contamination sources. A total of 2214 HM concentration data including six contamination sources were used to evaluate the pollution state of anthropogenic effects of HMs.

Results

The CFs for Zn and Cu revealed a broad enrichment of these HMs in all pollution sources. Scrap recycling sites (SRS) had the highest likelihood of pollutant distribution in soil surfaces. NIPI and PLI varied with the extent of anthropogenic activities or land use, especially in SRS, waste disposal sites (WDS), transport maintenance sites (TMS), and industrial sites (INS), and anthropogenic sources were divided into three discrete clusters: INS-TMS-LDS (land development sites), SRS-WDS, and vicinities of industrial sites (VIS).

Conclusion

Our results confirmed that soil pollution indices combined with cluster analysis were useful to identify sources of anthropogenic HMs in urban soil, as well as to assess the levels of HM contamination.

中文翻译：

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基于聚类分析和多重污染指数的城市土壤重金属污染源识别与评估

目的

确定人为来源的重金属（HMs）的污染源和污染水平，以进行适当的污染控制。我们根据在韩国进行的年度全国性调查的结果得出的多个污染指数和聚类分析，对土壤中HM污染的人为影响进行了量化。

方法

使用多种污染指数定量评估土壤中HMs的污染水平：污染因子（CF），地质累积指数（I _geo），Nemerow综合污染指数（NIPI）和污染负荷指数（PLI）。进行了层次聚类分析以阐明HMs与污染源之间的相关性。总共2214个HM浓度数据（包括六个污染源）用于评估HMs人为效应的污染状态。

结果

锌和铜的CFs在所有污染源中均显示出这些HM的广泛富集。废料回收站（SRS）在土壤表面污染物分布的可能性最高。NIPI和PLI随人为活动或土地使用的程度而变化，特别是在SRS，废物处理场（WDS），运输维护场（TMS）和工业场（INS）中，而人为源分为三个离散的集群：INS -TMS-LDS（土地开发站点），SRS-WDS和工业站点附近（VIS）。

结论

我们的结果证实，土壤污染指数与聚类分析相结合可用于识别城市土壤中人为HM的来源，以及评估HM污染水平。