Soil contamination with heavy metals, particularly cadmium (Cd), is one of the serious environmental challenges that has significant negative impacts on ecosystems and human health. This study evaluates the ecological and environmental risks of cadmium in a section of the agricultural lands in the Shahr-e-Rey region of Tehran Province. In this regard, soil sampling was conducted from 41 points at a depth of 0 to 20 cm, and the total concentration of cadmium was measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) after digesting the samples with aqua regia, in accordance with the EPA 3050B standard. The results showed that the average cadmium concentration was 0.79 mg/kg, with a range of 0.17 to 2.05 mg/kg, which is below the permissible limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency of Iran. To assess contamination, environmental indices including the Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Factor (CF), Enrichment Factor (EF), and Ecological Risk Index (ER) were calculated. The Geo-accumulation Index ranged from -0.82 to 2.77, the Ecological Risk Index ranged from 25.50 to 307.50, the Enrichment Factor ranged from 0.69 to 8.57, and the Contamination Factor ranged from 0.85 to 10.25. These indices indicate moderate to relatively high pollution levels in most of the soil samples for cadmium in the studied region. The analysis of these four indices, along with field visits to the area, confirms that human activities have a significant impact on increasing the concentration of this heavy metal in the region's topsoil.
Rahmani Siyalarz, S. , Keshavarzi, A. and Sarmadian, F. (2025). Ecological and Environmental Risk Assessment of Cadmium Heavy Metal in Soil (Case Study: Shahr-e-Rey, Tehran Province). Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research, (), -. doi: 10.22059/ijswr.2025.387772.669861
MLA
Rahmani Siyalarz, S. , , Keshavarzi, A. , and Sarmadian, F. . "Ecological and Environmental Risk Assessment of Cadmium Heavy Metal in Soil (Case Study: Shahr-e-Rey, Tehran Province)", Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research, , , 2025, -. doi: 10.22059/ijswr.2025.387772.669861
HARVARD
Rahmani Siyalarz, S., Keshavarzi, A., Sarmadian, F. (2025). 'Ecological and Environmental Risk Assessment of Cadmium Heavy Metal in Soil (Case Study: Shahr-e-Rey, Tehran Province)', Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22059/ijswr.2025.387772.669861
CHICAGO
S. Rahmani Siyalarz , A. Keshavarzi and F. Sarmadian, "Ecological and Environmental Risk Assessment of Cadmium Heavy Metal in Soil (Case Study: Shahr-e-Rey, Tehran Province)," Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research, (2025): -, doi: 10.22059/ijswr.2025.387772.669861
VANCOUVER
Rahmani Siyalarz, S., Keshavarzi, A., Sarmadian, F. Ecological and Environmental Risk Assessment of Cadmium Heavy Metal in Soil (Case Study: Shahr-e-Rey, Tehran Province). Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research, 2025; (): -. doi: 10.22059/ijswr.2025.387772.669861
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