ABSTRACT: The levels, contamination degrees, and spatial distributions of 13 metals-aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)-were investigated in soils from suburban, urban, and industrial sites in Ulsan, the largest multi-industrial city in South Korea. At the industrial sites, the mean concentrations of As (13.4 mg/kg), Cd (1.49 mg/kg), Cu (129 mg/kg), Ni (12.8 mg/kg), Pb (122 mg/kg), and Zn (376 mg/kg) were higher than those at the urban and suburban sites. In particular, soils from the non-ferrous metal and petrochemical industrial complexes were highly contaminated with As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, as supported by spatial distributions and multiple pollution indices.
