EVALUATION OF SOIL CONTAMINATION BY METALLIC TRACE ELEMENTS TO THE ROADSIDE ON THE LUBUMBASHI-KIPUSHI SECTION (DRC)

The Contamination of soils near the road Lubumbashi-Kipushi was investigated. Analysis of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc contents, as well as pH-water samples, yielded average MTEs with a decreasing profile concerningthe distance from the road with pH values ​​around 7.5. At the surface, copper gave the highest value (14459 mg/kg) of all MTE studied near the road at 0.5m and the lowest value (2271 mg/kg) at 20m of the road. Cadmium did not vary statistically but gave the lowest value (54.5 mg/kg) of all MTE at 20m from the road with a high value of 478 mg/kg at 2.5m from the road. Compared to sampling sites, statistical averages for these three variables (Cu, Pb, and Zn) showed a change in copper content with a high value of 13675 mg/kg at site 4 and a low value of 4771 mg/kg at site 3. Cadmium did not give a significant variation from sites. In-depth, the elements displayed the same behavior as on the surface. This was the case of copper, which had an average concentration of 14751 mg/kg at a distance of 0.5m close to the road and its smallest value was 2151 mg/kg at 50m. The pH did not show any significant variations. The correlation between the parameters studied showed that Cu, Cd, and Pb contents were bound, but they were independent of pH while Zn was bound to pH.