To investigate the soil pollution by heavy metals after the collapse of the tailing dam, the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As in agricultural soils collected from a Pb/Zn mine area in south Hunan province were determined, and the single method index and Hakanson′s ecological risk index were employed. The results indicated that the average concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As in soils were 566. 82, 285. 90, 69. 00, 10. 29, 670?12 mg·kg-1 , respectively. The single method index demonstrated that those agricultural soils were polluted serio...