Volume 13, Issue 3 (12-2025)                   J Environ Health Eng 2025, 13(3): 251-267 | Back to browse issues page

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Abdollahinejad B, Pasalari H, Farzadkia M. Ecological risk assessment of soils contaminated with heavy metals around landfill sites in Iran: a systematic review. J Environ Health Eng 2025; 13 (3) :251-267
URL: http://jehe.abzums.ac.ir/article-1-1133-en.html
1- Research Center for Environmental Health Technology (RCEHT), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran & Research Center for Environmental Health Technology (RCEHT), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3- Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , farzadkia.m@iums.ac.ir
Abstract:   (24 Views)
Background: Over the recent decades, the growth of urbanization and production of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Iran has led to severe soil pollution with heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, As and Hg) around the landfill sites. The heavy metals are highly stable and pose a threat to ecosystems, food chains, and human health. This comprehensive review examines the concentration levels of heavy metals in soils around the landfill sites of Iran and the ecological risk assessment.
Materials and Methods: The methodology was performed based on the PRISMA guidelines, and the global databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and the Iranian database SID and Magiran were used using relevant keywords such as "Soil*", "heavy metal*" and "landfill*". In addition, risk assessment indicators including contamination factor (CF), contamination degree (CD) and Ecological Risk Index (URI) were calculated.
Results: Of 102 initial studies, 11 eligible studies were selected and metals concentration data were extracted. The results indicated that the highest concentration of heavy metal was related to cadmium (180 mg/kg) with a CF equal to 782.61 and a total URI of 23480.89 creating an extremely severe risk in the soils around the landfill site of Chaloos city.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that there was little data on soil contamination at landfill sites in Iran. In addition, the existing data also had a lack of integrity in the number and type of heavy metals measured. This makes the ecological risk assessment of soils difficult; there are some quantitative and qualitative challenges in the data presented in the selected studies and make it difficult to judge points with high, medium and low levels of contaminants. Therefore, it is necessary to take action in coherent planning for the design of an integrated study model for continuous monitoring of soils around the landfill sites with emphasis on pollution caused by heavy metals.
Full-Text [PDF 2564 kb]   (16 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2025/09/14 | Accepted: 2025/10/13 | Published: 2025/12/13

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