Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in the Agricultural Soils of Bonao, Dominican Republic

Natividad Miledy Alberto Then, Ramón Delanoy, Diana Rodríguez Alberto, Ronaldo Méndez Henández, Oscar Díaz Rizo and Lizaira Bello ()
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Natividad Miledy Alberto Then: Area of Basic and Environmental Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Santo Domingo 10602, Dominican Republic
Ramón Delanoy: Science Faculty, Instituto de Física, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), Santo Domingo 10103, Dominican Republic
Diana Rodríguez Alberto: Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
Ronaldo Méndez Henández: Instituto Superior de Tecnologías y Ciencias Aplicadas de la Universidad de La Habana (InSTEC-UH), La Habana 10600, Cuba
Oscar Díaz Rizo: Instituto Superior de Tecnologías y Ciencias Aplicadas de la Universidad de La Habana (InSTEC-UH), La Habana 10600, Cuba
Lizaira Bello: Area of Basic and Environmental Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Santo Domingo 10602, Dominican Republic

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: Heavy metal content in agricultural soils potentially impacts the food chain and human health. The present study assessed the levels of heavy metals in topsoil samples collected within an agricultural region situated in Bonao, Dominican Republic. The Energy-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique was utilized to measure the concentrations of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) in the samples. The assessment of soil pollution status and potential ecological risk (RI) involved the utilization of various soil pollution indices, such as the single pollution index (PI), integrated pollution index (IPI), and enrichment factor (EF). The average total concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, and As were 103,000, 2000, 347, 36, 92, 32, 9.6, and 4.2 mg·kg −1 , respectively. The results showed that the Mn, Ni, Cu, and As levels exceeded the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s recommended levels for healthy agricultural soils. The distribution pattern of each individual metal was different, indicating they had different sources of origin. The average pollution indices indicated low-to-moderate pollution, and the potential ecological risk obtained was low. This study emphasizes the need for soil management practices to mitigate heavy metal contamination for food safety and environmental health.

Keywords: soil pollution; heavy metals; Bonao; Dominican Republic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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