The third Conf. for Sustainable Agricultural Development, Fac. of Agric., Fayoum Univ., 12-14 Nov. 2007. (507-526)  STATUS OF SOME HEAVY METALS IN FAYOUM DISTRICT SOILS By Mahmoud Abd Elgawad; Hamdi, A. A. Mohamed; Mahmoud, M. Shendi and Samir, I. Ghabour Soil and Water Dept., Faculty of Agric., Fayoum Univ. Fayoum, Egypt ABSTRACT Objective of the present work was to study the status of some heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) in soils of Fayoum District, Governorate of Fayoum. Egypt. One hundred sixty one soil samples were collected from eighty one sites during August and July 2005 following the grid system at distances 2 kilometers to represent Fayoum District soils. Levels and distribution of the studied heavy metals throughout Fayoum District area were identified and mapped using ILWIS Geographic Information system “GIS”. It was found that the concentrations of total Cd in soils greatly exceeded the maximum permissible limits listed by several developed countries. The concentrations of total Ni in soils slightly exceeded the maximum recommended critical limits. Although the concentrations of total Pb in soils allover the area of Fayoum District were generally below the maximum permissible limits, there is evidence of Pb concentration increases in few spots particularly in soil surface near the main roads and urban areas. Total and DTPA extractable metals concentrations were considerably greater in the surface layers (0-30 cm) in comparison with those of subsoils (30-60 cm). This indicated that top soils of Fayoum have been subjected to heavy metals contaminants. No correlation was found between the total content of each of Cd, Pb and Ni in soils and their DTPA-extractable concentrations. This could be expected since all Fayoum District soils are alkali in reaction and almost rich in CaCO 3 , therefore most of the total amounts of metals are found in unavailable forms which are less toxic to plants. Results of the present investigation emphasized the need to further research work in order to identify the main sources of top soil contamination with heavy metals in Fayoum and to find out suitable standards in terms of extractable metal amounts with DTPA or other extractants together with their total contents for the evaluation of pollution with heavy metals in agricultural soils of Egypt.