Distribution, contamination status and source of trace elements in the soil around brick kilns

Sazal Kumar; Meixia Zhao; Haiyang Zhang; Md Aminur Rahman; Chuanxiu Luo; Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127882

Distribution, contamination status and source of trace elements in the soil around brick kilns

Chemosphere. 2021 Jan:263:127882. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127882. Epub 2020 Aug 13.

Authors

Sazal Kumar¹, Meixia Zhao², Haiyang Zhang¹, Md Aminur Rahman³, Chuanxiu Luo⁴, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 1000049, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China. Electronic address: zhaomeix@scsio.ac.cn.
³ Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia; Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Zonal Laboratory, Khulna, 9100, Bangladesh.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
⁵ Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.

PMID: 32818846
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127882

Abstract

This study reports the distribution, contamination level, and possible sources of 54 metal (oid)s in the soils found around brick kilns in south-western Bangladesh. In total, 40 soil samples were collected from the vicinity of five brick kilns in four directions at 250 m intervals. This study reveals that the mean respective concentrations of caesium (Cs), beryllium (Be), lead (Pb), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), terbium (Tb), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), thorium (Th), germanium (Ge), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), silver (Ag), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), and tungsten (W), were 7.83, 3.19, 22.93, 85.93, 9.61, 36.86, 7.30, 1.23, 5.76, 1.13, 0.99, 3.14, 0.45, 2.91, 17.72, 3.04, 30.07, 185.13, 13.99, 0.30, 5.34, 1.26, and 2.61 μg g^-1. Furthermore, those amounts exceeded their respective shale values. The pollution evaluation indices indicated a moderate level of contamination by Cs, Pb, Th, Ag, Hf, Ta, W, and lanthanides but excluding lanthanum (La) and lutetium (Lu). The pollution load index revealed pollution at two brickfields. Multivariate statistics reported that coal combustion in the brick kilns is the primary source of lanthanides, actinides, Y, Zr, and Hf in the soil, while other elements derived mostly from natural sources. A portion originated from coal combustion in brick kilns and agricultural activities. Changes in metal (oid)s concentrations were non-linear with the distance between the kilns and sampling points. Consequently, further studies are required and should consider meteorological factors and severity of human impact in the study area.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Brick kilns; Enrichment; Heavy metal; Lanthanides; Uranium.

MeSH terms

Bangladesh
Dysprosium
Humans
Praseodymium
Soil
Trace Elements* / analysis

Substances

Soil
Trace Elements
Dysprosium
Praseodymium