Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) and Heavy Metals Accumulation in Soils around Oil Refineries: Case Study from Three Southern Oil Refineries in the State of Kuwait

Geochemical and statistical analysis of Sulfur dioxide, Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and heavy metal pollutants (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr and V) was conducted to soil samples around major oil refineries (Mina Ahmadi, Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba), industries and scanty residential areas in Al-Ahmadi governorate at the southern region of the State of Kuwait. High level of SO₂ was found in soil samples of the adjacent area of the refineries (15,000-23,000) ug g^-1 and TOC ranging between 0.01 to 1.62 μg g^-1 in the soil samples. Furthermore, trace metal analysis in sediment samples revealed high metal levels in the sequence of Fe (17.15³ μg g^-1) > Zn (151.08 μg g^-1) > Ni (112.78 μg g^-1) > Pb (27.71 μg g^-1) > Mn (404.27 μg g^-1) > Cd (0.08 μg g^-1) > Cu (23.79 μg g^-1) > Cr (56.23 μg g^-1) > V (36.53 μg g^-1). Cr and V were within the permissible limit. Accordingly, the soil analysis demonstrated that the area around Mina Abdullah refinery was the most polluted area and Shuaiba refinery was the least polluted area, indicating the significance of pollution due to the increase of emissions from the refineries and factories in the area. The level of pollution is alarming, health effected and environmental monitoring is highly recommended.