LAUSR

ABSTRACT To identify areas with a high priority for remediation action, regarding soil pollution with Pb and Cu in southwestern Iran, 234 soil samples (0–10 cm) from industrial, urban, agricultural, range and forest land utilization types were collected and analyzed for total concentration of Pb and Cu, using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The results indicated that 55% of the soil samples had Pb concentrations greater than background values; for Cu, this figure was 45%. The highest pollution index values for Pb and Cu found in the industrial areas, while the forests and rangelands exhibited the lowest values. Spatial distribution analysis of the soils, using the indicator kriging approach, showed spherical, Gaussian and exponential equations as the best-fitted models for the description of Pb and Cu pollution in the study area. Accordingly, with a probability of greater than 0.8, approximately 8,875 and 3,106 km2, and 7,148 and 832 km2 of the study area classified as low- and highly-polluted soils, in terms of Pb and Cu, respectively. Using the Moran’s I index, 20 and 18 points identified as hotspots for Pb and Cu, respectively, which strongly correlate to the locations of the industrial towns and urban districts of Ahvaz, Masjed-Soleiman, and Izeh.