Urban Heavy Metal-Polluted Soil Source and its Economic Loss Prediction:A Case Study on Changchun City in China

Soil is an important component of the urban ecosystem environment and is polluted by all kinds of substances, such as heavy metals and organic matters from industrial production, daily life, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In this study, economic loss caused by soil heavy metal pollution was analysed using Changchun City in China as an example. First, the contents of four soil heavy metals (Cd, As, Cr, and Cu) and their variation trends in Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone were explored. Then, the pollution loss rate mode was utilized to predict heavy metal pollution loss rate. Results show that the pollution loss rates of the four heavy metals are sorted as Cr, As, Cu and Cd in descending order and range from 1.12% to 1.41% with no major overall differences. A heavy metal pollution loss rate of 5.18% is classified as Grade II in pollution grading, which corresponds to a slightly clean level, but with a large economic loss of nearly USD 9,564,800. The study provides important references for further analysis of urban soil heavy metal sources, quantitative estimation of economic loss caused by soil heavy metal pollution, and implementation of evaluation work on soil environmental quality.