68890

37

50

14

Stone cutting industry is one of the major environmental pollutants in Palestine. The pollution process starts by mining rocks from quarries and transporting them to stone cutting plants distributed around the West Bank. The mining and transporting process is usually associated with different types of pollution such as air, noise and soil contamination. In stone cutting plants, rock blocks are cut into different sizes and shapes. The cutting and shaping process is accomplished by using metal saws which need a tremendous amount of cooling water. The cooling water is discharged out of the plant as highly viscous material referred to as stone slurry waste. The stone slurry waste poses a serious environmental hazard. At present most of the stone slurry waste produced by the stone cutting industry, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, is disposed of in agricultural land, open areas and sewage networks. This practice adversely affects the fertility of the soil, contaminates the ground, reduces ground water recharge and increases the drainage problem. This study discusses the issue of soil contamination by stone slurry waste in Hebron district. It focuses on the effect of stone slurry waste on pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), salinity and the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) for three different types of soil (sand, Terra Rosa Clay and artificial organic soil). The Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Geographic Information System (GIS) were used as a tool to estimate the total contaminated area in Hebron district. Spatial data and area maps were developed for the contaminated areas. The results have revealed that the pH, EC, salinity and TDS of the artificial organic soil are significantly affected by the addition of different percentages of stone slurry waste up to 80%, compared to moderate and weak effect on Terra Rosa and sandy soils. Analysis of the spatial data from GPS and GIS has shown that the contaminated area in Hebron district varied between 0.73% and 20.6% of the total municipal area, assuming a buffer diameter of 100 meters for contaminated areas.

Soil Contamination , Hebron DistrictDue , Stone Cutting Industry

2008

المجله الاردنيه للعلوم التطبيقيه: سلسله العلوم الانسانيه

المجله الاردنيه للعلوم التطبيقيه: سلسله العلوم الانسانيه