Integrated environmental assessment of natural radionuclides and heavy metals in agricultural soils and crops
Keywords:
Agricultural soil, soil-plant transfer, heavy metals, natural radionuclides, geoaccumulation index, anthropogenic contaminationAbstract
Clean agricultural soils are essential for maintaining crop quality and ensuring food security. However, the increased use of chemical fertilizers, atmospheric pollution, and other anthropogenic activities can introduce heavy metals and radionuclides into soils, potentially affecting crop quality. This study provides an integrated assessment of natural radionuclide and heavy metal enrichment in agricultural soils and associated crops. It aims to determine whether anthropogenic activities have contributed to contaminant enrichment and whether concentrations in crops raise any regulatory concerns. Soil and cotton, corn, and sunflower crop samples from Western Anatolia were analyzed for radionuclide content using gamma spectrometry and for trace metals using ICP-MS. Soil contamination was evaluated by the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and radionuclide activities were compared with UNSCEAR reference values. Soil-to-crop transfer factors, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to identify potential sources of contamination. Most soil heavy metals and radionuclides fell within regional and global ranges, with Igeo values indicating negligible to moderate contamination. Only Hg and As reached moderate enrichment, which is consistent with legacy Hg mining and known regional elevated As levels. Concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, and Cr remained well below European Commission regulatory levels for textile and food products in the relevant crops. Cluster analysis indicated geogenic origins for most elements and no evidence of enrichment from chemical fertilizers or atmospheric deposition. Overall, this integrated approach provides a valuable framework for clarifying contaminant pathways and their potential impact on food quality and industrial organic raw materials.
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