**3.2. Eastern soil regions (ESR)**

The sampling sites in ESR were BEN, DRN, HEN, MR, SF and SLQ (sites are shown in Fig.1). The mean As levels in these sites decreased from SF > DRN > BAY > MAR > HEN > BEN >SLQ. In general, As levels in ESR were high, ranging from 0.01 to 18.9 mg/kg.

#### **Western soil regions (WSR)**

Samples in WSR were taken from two sites, THR and SIRT (Fig.1). WSR recorded the second highest mean total As level compared with ESR and SSR (2 ± 0.1 mg/kg vs.8.1± 0.50 and 1.7± 0.14, respectively). The mean As levels in sites in WSR decreased from THR > SIRT ( range 2– 2.5 mg/g and 1.2–2.1mg/g for THR and SIRT, respectively).
