중금속의 토양 오염: 한국중부지역의 농경지를 중심으로

The Concentration of Heavy Metals in Some Agricultural Soils of Central Korea

To assess soil distribution patterns of heavy metals in agricultural environments, we have measured the concentrations of six metals from surficial soils of three different groups divided on the basis of the surrounding environment: (1) soil group I-cultivated soils within the purely agricultural regions, (2) soil group II-both cultivated and uncultivated soils near various livelihood facilities, and (3) soil group III-mainly cultivated soils near major polluting sources. The mean concentrations for the three soil groups were found in the range as follows: 0.12~0.15 (Cd), 4.94~6.08 (Pb), 0.05~0.11 (Hg), 2.82~3.50 (Cu), 4.69~7.82 (Zn), and 0.36~0.78 (As) ppm. Examination of data distribution trends indicates that the concentrations determined from the relatively unpolluted soil environs (groups I and II) were comparable not only between each other but also with those reported previously in background soil environs of Korea. The concentration data for the soil group III were however found to be much higher than the rest two groups. Unlike the direct comparison of the magnitudes of concentrations, results of a regression analysis exhibited much different patterns: it was seen that the correlation patterns for soil group I were rather analogous to those of soil group III. The similarities in correlation patterns between groups I and III along with the lack of correlations in soil group II suggest that soil characteristics such as whether being cultivated or not are important factors affecting soil distributions of heavy metals.