Determination of heavy metals soil and earthworms in Çankırı center and Eldivan district

Heavy metals can be defined as metals with a density greater than 5 g/cm3, an atomic number greater than 20, and metals that create toxicity and pollution. The main sources of heavy metals are mineral fertilizers, some bedrocks, sewage waste, biocides, wastewater, urban waste, exhaust gases of motor vehicles and mining. Earthworms live in semi-wet areas and can absorb heavy metals in aquatic and terrestrial environments through different ways such as water intake, nutrient pathway and direct absorption from the epithelium. Heavy metals affect inhibiting development of earthworm, cocoon production, activity and death of earthworm. In addition, earthworms can be used in the detoxification of the soil by accumulating heavy metals in their bodies. In this study, earthworms and soil samples were taken from ten locations in Eldivan and Çankırı centers. A total of 20 worm and 20 soil samples were analyzed by the ICP-OES method to detect Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Hg heavy metals. During the measurements, there was no statistically significant difference between Eldivan and center samples in terms of Cd, Cu, Zn and Hg, while the average of Pb samples was statistically higher in the center (3.68±1.48) than Eldivan (1.72±1.49) (P≤0,05). In addition, Cd values in an area near the highway in Eldivan, Zn in an area near the railway in the center, Cu in an agricultural area in Eldivan, and Hg in a metal processing factory and two agricultural areas in the center were found above the limit. It is thought that Cd, Zn, Cu and Hg sources above the legal limits may originate from pesticides, fungicides, fossil fuels and traffic.