Chemical analysis and environmental assessment of snow cover pollution in urbanized territories

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Chemistry and Ecology, Almaty Technological University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

2 Department of Chemical Physics and Material Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

3 Department of Technology of Bakery Products and Processing Industries and Department of Food Safety and Quality, Almaty Technological University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

4 LLP “VITA”, Almaty, Kazakhstan

5 Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

6 Department of Civil Defense and Military Training, Malik Gabdullin Academy of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan

7 Head of the Biotechnology Laboratory at the Research Institute of Biotechnology and Ecology; Zhetysu University named after I.Zhansugurov, Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan

8 Epizootic Monitoring Department, "National Reference Center for Veterinary Medicine", Almaty, Kazakhstan

10.22124/cjes.2026.10037

Abstract

Pollution of snow cover in the urban environment is considered a cumulative indicator, which gives an exact representation of air quality and environmental risks. In this study, a chemical analysis and assessment of snow cover pollution in the urban environment of Kazakhstan have been conducted. An analytical and descriptive method with the cross-sectional design was used. Samples were taken from 45 sites in three cities with different industrial activity (mining, chemical, and coal industries) between January and February 2026. Sampling places were divided into five land use types, such as industrial, residential, commercial, roadside, and parks. Physicochemical characteristics, major anions, cations, and heavy metals were estimated through ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy methods. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA, PCA, and cluster analyses. It was revealed that the pH value reduced from 6.82 in the mining city to 6.38 in the coal-based city. The electrical conductivity increased from 48.6 to 78.2 µS cm-1 and the TDS increased from 32.6 to 54.6 mg L-1. The sulfate content increased from 8.42 to 16.82 mg L-1. Lead content increased from 2.84 to 6.82 µg L-1, while the cadmium content increased from 0.42 to 1.24 µg L-1, exceeding the permissible limit of 1.0 µg L-1. Cadmium had the maximum content of metal among all metals studied. The maximum concentration of zinc was 18.6 to 32.4 µg L-1. The cadmium pollution index calculated was 1.24 and the environmental risk quotient for cadmium was 74.4, which put it in moderate-risk category. The results of Principal Component Analysis indicate that there are three major sources of pollution, industrial, traffic and urban (42.6%, 24.8% and 12.4% respectively). The total variance of 79.8% validated the model. A correlation matrix identified a positive correlation of 0.84 between the concentrations of sulfate and nitrate ions, as well as a correlation of 0.78 between the concentrations of lead and cadmium ions. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the concentration of pH and heavy metal ions. It may be concluded that the most important pollutant in the snow cover of cities in Kazakhstan is cadmium, and lowering 

Keywords

References

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Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 4
October 2026
Pages 1157-1165

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