Utaliev A.A., Yakovleva L.V., Maslova E.A.

Heavy Metal Contamination of Agricultural Land in the Zone of Influence the Gas Processing Plant

The objects of the research were brown semi-desert and alluvial types of soils in Kharabalinsky district of the Astrakhan region, with different particle size distribution, located in the zone of influence of the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant, as well as under the gas distribution pipeline. The area under study is classified as agricultural land. The plant is located in the adjacent part of the Volga River 50-80 km north of Astrakhan. Names of soils are given in accordance with the "Classification of soils of Russia". Description of soil profiles was conducted in accordance with generally accepted approaches. Content of gross forms of heavy metals in soil was determined by atomic absorption method. Field and laboratory studies of soils were conducted in accordance with generally accepted methods. PH of water extraction, organic carbon content and particle size distribution were determined in soil samples. The content of gross forms of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc in the thirty-centimeter layer of soil does not exceed the approximate permissible concentrations but there is an excess of average background values. The results of the survey revealed agricultural areas where the total contamination rate is within the range of 19.9 - 23.2, which, in accordance with regulatory documents on the degree of its chemical contamination refers to it as moderately dangerous

Keywords:HEAVY METALS, ASTRAKHAN GAS COMPLEX, AGRICULTURAL LAND, SOIL COVER, ANTHROPOGENIC LANDSCAPE