IDENTIFICACIÓN DE ZONAS DE RIESGO AMBIENTAL EN LA CIUDAD DE MURCIA USANDO ÍNDICES DE CONTAMINACIÓN Y SIG

Abstract

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of GIS and pollution indexes to identify environmental risk zones affected by heavy metals in urban areas. The study area is located in the city of Murcia and surrounding (SE, Spain). The concentrations of sCr, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni and Cd in 221 soil samples were determined, and five pollution indexes calculated. After an analysis of each index and a comparison between them, it was selected the pollutant load index (PLI), for the following reasons: (1) provided a good spatial distribution of the areas of highest risk, (2) all metals contributed in a similar way to the index value, and (3) the index includes background concentrations in its calculation, which allowed determine the level of metal enrichment of each sample. After selecting the index, a GIS was used to create a spatial distribution map ajusting the SIG parameters to obtain a proper definition of the areas with the highest environmental risk, in this case eight areas were identified. Therefore, the calculation of pollution indexes and subsequent integration into a SIG is an appropriate tool for identifying environmental risk areas by heavy metals in urban settlements.