A mineralogical method for evaluating Cd pollution in soils of Zhejiang Province, China

The authors used the mineralogical method to evaluate the Cd environmental quality of the surface layer of different soil types /subtypes and surface layer and sections of different parent materials in Zhejiang Province. The evaluation indicates that- the Cd environmental quality of soils is determined by the Cd content in soils and content of Cd adsorbed by soils; the degree of Cd pollution has a negative value, the content of Cd in soils does not reach the degree of pollution, and the retention capacity of Cd in soils of Zhejiang is high. Analysis reveals that minerals in soils have a relatively strong capacity of fixation and retention of the dement Cd. Cd in soils is not easy to enter into the food chain and pollute surface water and groundwater. This method that aims to reveal the environment balance between heavy metals and various minerals in soils can offer a scientific basis and technologic support for evaluating the soil environment quality.