A COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY ON THE VARIATION OF HEAVY METALS IN SOIL AND PLANTS SPECIES BY FLAME ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

Roadside plants (eucalyptus and guaiacum officinale) from controlled and polluted areas of karachi city were analyzed for heavy metals. leaves of these plants and the soil (surface and depth) were taken as samples for this study. atomic absorption technique was employed for the analysis. levels of pb and cu were found to be elevated in leaves and soil of industrial and high traffic density areas. rain was found to influence the metal concentration. pb and co levels increased while cu, ni and cd levels got decreased following rain. levels of metals in leaves were found to be less than that of soil. levels of co, ni, and cd were found to be almost the same at surface and depth of soil. however the pb and cu contents at surface soil were significantly higher than the depth. the collected data manifests that automobile exhaust and industrial wastes in urban areas of karachi are causes of pollution.