Heavy Metal Pollution in Surface Soil of Korba Basin, India

Coal-fired power plants cause serious environmental impacts associated with air pollution, particulate matter, and heavy metals (HMs), among others. In this work, the spatial, temporal, and vertical concentration variations, pollution indices, and sources of As, Cr, Cd, Pb, Hg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Ni heavy metals were studied in the surface soil of the largest coal-burning area in India (Korba Basin) from 2011 to 2015. Heavy metal concentrations were in the following ranges: 49–164 mg kg−1 (As and Cr), 0.11–0.56 mg kg−1 (Cd), 72−194 mg kg−1 (Pb), and 0.11–0.39 mg kg−1 (Hg). Pollution indices showed a very severe contamination, especially for As, Ni, and Pb. In particular, the detected As content in the soil in both arsenite and arsenate forms was several times higher than the permissible limit. Urgent measures are needed to minimize the rate of contamination and remediate the extraordinarily serious heavy metals pollution problem in this area.