Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals in the Turkestan Region

Toxic pollutants of industrial origin can be dangerous for professionals who come into contact with them at work, and also for the people who live near the sources of environmental hazards. There is a known relationship between the soil pollution with heavy metals and the morbidity of the population. This paper reports a study of the soil pollution with ions of heavy metals in the Turkestan region, Kazakhstan. The study found technogenic geochemical anomalies of various size, intensity and origin in the soils of the Turkestan region. The distribution of lead, copper, barium, zinc, molybdenum, phosphorus and arsenic was mapped based on the ecological and geochemical survey of the upper soil layer. The most polluted city is Kentau, where concentrations of Pb, Mo, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Mn, Cr, Ni in the soil exceed the allowable level. The cause of pollution is erosion that occurs in the areas of technogenic waste storage. In some communities, the concentration of only one metal exceeded its MAC or the Clarke number, for example, only scandium exceeded its Clarke number by 1.1 in Lenger and only exceeded its Clarke number by 2.75 in Sholakkorgan.