The ecological effects of soil heavy metals in Yantai, Shandong Province: a case study of As

Abstract：Yantai City is one of the blue economic areas of Shandong peninsula. Contamination situation, distribution and transportation of heavy metals were studied in this paper on the basis of eco-system geochemical data of Yantai. The results indicate that the main factors responsible for soil pollution are As, Cd, Hg, Cu, Pb, Zn, and the main sources of the heavy metals are composed of wastes and discharges of factory and mining activities. Chemical species of arsenic in the soil- plant system were analyzed. It is found that plant roots absorb soil As and are subjected to the reduction of AsⅤ→AsⅢ, that in the upward migration process, AsⅢ proportion gradually decreases. The distribution of As in the root soil-plant system is in order of root soil> root> leaf> stem> apple.