Analysis of Zn, Cd, As, Cu, Pb, and Fe in snails as bioindicators and soil samples near traffic road by ICP-OES

Snails are used as biological indicators of the environment pollution for heavy metals. Living snail samples were collected from different sites at the city of Irbid-Jordan and classified according to their morphological features including Helix pelasga , Eobania vermiculata , Xeropicta derbentina , Oychilus , Xerocrassa seetzenii , Xerocrassa simulata , and Pila . Zn, Cd, As, Cu, Pb, and Fe levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Results indicated that metal concentrations in all snail shell samples were with an average and range for Zn 22.4 (6.5–105.5) μg g −1 , Cd 7.8 (0.4–48.1) μg g −1 , As 25.9 (0.7–248.5) μg g −1 , Cu 15.1 (1.6–69.0) μg g −1 , Pb 0.4 (0.2–1.7) μg g −1 , and Fe 119.6 (14.0–1102.0) μg g −1 , whereas, in soil samples, the average and range for Zn 204.0 (12.0–709.0) μg g −1 , Cd 5.7 (0.2–39.5) μg g −1 , As 3.2 (1.8–5.2) μg g −1 , Cu 22.1 (2.3–77.4) μg g −1 , Pb 0.2 (0.1–0.3) μg g −1 , and Fe 242.4 (25.0–680.0) μg g −1 .