ASSESSMENT OF Cu, Fe AND Zn CONTAMINATION IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS AROUND THE MEFTAH CEMENT PLANT, ALGERIA

UDK 631.453:666.94(65) An attempt was made to investigate the concentrations of Cu, Fe and Zn in agricultural soils around the Meftah cement plant, Algeria. Forty soil samples were collected at two soil depths, 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm. The soil samples were digested with the EPA method and the concentrations of heavy metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations ranged from 7.22 to 55.75 mg kg-1 for Cu, 16160.8 to 19742.2 mg kg-1for Fe and 44.46 to 200.26 mg kg-1for Zn. The magnitude of the mean concentration values indicated the following order: Fe >> Zn > Cu for both horizons. In accordance with the European guidelines, the mean concentrations of the analyzed metals did not exceed the threshold values for agricultural soils. Concentrations of Cu, Fe and Zn in surface soils were higher than in subsurface soil samples. The enrichment factor (EF) was applied to assess the soil contamination. The enrichment factor values of Cu and Zn in studied soils ranged from 0.75 to 5.03 and 1.79 to 6.68, respectively. Up to 75% and 5% of soil samples were moderately to highly contaminate with regard to Zn and Cu respectively, compared to the upper continental crust concentrations.