Abstract
Heavy metals are widespread industrial pollutants of the environment. Currently, they are among the priority pollutants, observations of which are mandatory in all environments. The term heavy metals, characterizes a broad group of pollutants, which has recently received significant spread. In reservoirs, soils and plants, they come by draining sewage from various industrial plants and atmospheric precipitation contaminated by smoke emissions. This article presents the results of a study of heavy metal contamination in the northern part of the soil and vegetation cover in the Zhaiyk River basin with in the Western Kazakhstan Region. Data from 10 key sites on samples of soil and plant samples in the northern part of the Zhaiyk basin with in the West Kazakhstan Region were used. The studies were carried out on the basis of data from a testing laboratory. The main characteristics of the soil and vegetation cover are investigated, and the contamination of the soil and vegetation cover in the northern part of the Zhaiyk basin with in the West Kazakhstan Region is assessed during which the exceedance of the maximum permissible concentration in the soil cover was determined for heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, Ni, in the vegetation cover, the maximum permissible concentration for such heavy metals as Cu, Ni, Cd, and Co was exceeded.