Environmental Survey of Heavy Metals in the Yiluo Basin of East-Central China: Water, Soil and Plants

Ryunosuke Kikuchi, Carla S. Ferreira, Antonio D. Ferreira

China's economy has grown at an average of 10% over the last 10 years, but the rapid urbanization and industrialization has released large volumes of pollutants. As it is reported that China is facing an environmental crisis, we carried out a field survey in Luoyang city, which is the center of industrial activities in the Yiluo basin, in order to draw a simple picture of the current environment. The obtained results show that sampled water contained Zn and Pb in rich amounts, soil samples contained large amounts of Zn, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cr and Al, and plant samples (e.g. squashes) contained considerable amounts of Al in particular. The measured metal contents exceed not only the European standard but also China's national standard. Chinese farm products are supplied to the European market. In this sense, the issue associated with metal contamination is not local but global (European concern in particular). It is important to establish a natural reference (i.e. background level) in order to properly assess the contamination degree due to human activities, but this subject remains for a future study.