ABSTRACT
Large areas of soils have been contaminated by heavy metals from rapidly expanding industrial areas, mine tailings, disposal of high metal wastes, leaded gasoline and paints, land application of fertilizers and pesticides, sewage sludge, wastewater irrigation, coal combustion residues, spillage of petrochemicals, and atmospheric deposition. Lead (Pb) is one of the most common heavy metals found at contaminated sites. Pb accumulation in soils has been shown to cause a variety of environmental problems, including loss of vegetation, groundwater contamination, and Pb toxicity in living things (Saifullah et al., 2009; Ruley et al., 2006; Sarkar et al., 2008; Lin et al., 2009).
