Heavy Metal Contents of Soil and Surface Dust and Its Ecological Risk Analysis in a Multifunctional Industrial Park

A multifunctional industrial park can perform both producing and living functions. The smelting and processing of non-ferrous metals may lead to soil pollution, posing risks to human beings. In this study, an industrial park located in central Anhui Province, China, with copper (Cu) processing and mechanical components as the main industries, was selected as the study object. By collecting and testing soil and dust samples, the horizontal and vertical distribution characteristics of heavy metals in soil and dust in the park were analyzed. The ecological risk index is used to identify areas with higher risks and correlation and principal component analysis are used to disclose the potential source of heavy metals. Results showed that the contents of Cu, Zn, As, Pb, and Cd in the soil were 2.65, 1.76, 1.56, 2.14, and 3.87 times that of the background value, respectively. The heavy metal content of dust was significantly higher than that of soil, with contents of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Hg, As, Pb, and Cd of 1.93, 1.05, 7.57, 4.63, 6.08, 5.39, 2.58, and 5.50 times that of the background value, respectively. Horizontally, the areas with higher ecological risks concentrated in the western part of the park, while vertically there was no significant trend with increases in soil depth. For the dust samples, areas with high ecological risks were closer to the main traffic arteries. Principal component analysis indicated that the main source of heavy metal in western soils was probably irrigation with contaminated river water. Road traffic, on the other hand, is more likely to be the main contributor to high dust heavy metal levels. This result is important for the park to control the potential health risks caused by heavy metals through zoning management according to the functions of different areas.