With respect to the nature of the activity- hot
metal operations- of the Foolad Kaviyan Company, the
above result is acceptable. The mean mercury
concentrations of rain water samples were compared
to the US EPA standard, in which the maximum
permissible value is 0.002 mg/lit. The annual mean
concentration of Hg of precipitation was less than
permissible limit. Furthermore, according to the EPA
standard, the permissible limit for air is 0.1 mg/ m3,
whereas the annual Hg value in the air of Ahvaz is less
than it. The highest value of the mercury at the soil
sample stations was 0.10 μg/g in winter that is seems
due to presence of steel industry. In the summer, there
was not detected, probably due to the high volatilization
properties of mercury in the soil and effect of the