Integrated assessment of heavy metals pollution along motorway M-2

The study was carried out to assess the soil contamination induced by traffic in the vicinity of a Motorway (M-2) through an intensive field study. The soil samples collected from 397 quadrats of 50 study sites were analyzed for total lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and zinc. The results showed that the heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd and Cr) concentration with the exception of iron, decreased with the increase in distance from the road, i.e. from the border zone to the verge zone. All the elements that measured were found to be at high levels in samples. The mean values of Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd, Cr were 0.5, 81.40, 14.19, 0.46 and 14.61 μg g^ –1, respectively. The above data analysis provides a benchmark of heavy metal pollution levels in road verges.