What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess the environmental degradation and spatial extent of toxic chemical contamination in soils caused by long-term mining, metallurgy, and sewage discharge.

October 27, 2020Geological QuarterlyOpen Access

Sources of anthropogenic contamination of soil in the Upper Silesian Agglomeration (southern Poland)

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To assess the environmental degradation and spatial extent of toxic chemical contamination in soils caused by long-term mining, metallurgy, and sewage discharge.
Assessed 23 elements in both topsoil (0.0–0.3 m) and subsoil (0.8–1.0 m) depths within the <2 mm soil fraction.
Extracted metals using aqua regia and measured concentrations via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).
Calculated the enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and interpolated spatial data to map contamination against industrial sites.
Identified extreme contamination exceeding geochemical background levels, peaking at 88,120 mg/kg for zinc, 54,940 mg/kg for lead, and 13,230 mg/kg for copper.
Recorded marked elevations for arsenic (up to 5,300 mg/kg), cadmium (up to 388.8 mg/kg), chromium (up to 1,638 mg/kg), tin (up to 701 mg/kg), molybdenum (up to 93.7 mg/kg), and mercury (up to 23.44 mg/kg).
Located the highest concentrations of toxic elements adjacent to smelting facilities and nearby residential areas.

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Implication

Environmental geochemical assessment reveals extreme heavy metal contamination in industrial soils, indicating substantial pollution exposure risks near active and historical smelters.

Cite This Study

Pasieczna et al. (2020) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7a090506bbdce36102100f https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1564

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Implication

Environmental geochemical assessment reveals extreme heavy metal contamination in industrial soils, indicating substantial pollution exposure risks near active and historical smelters.

Sources of anthropogenic contamination of soil in the Upper Silesian Agglomeration (southern Poland)

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Sources of anthropogenic contamination of soil in the Upper Silesian Agglomeration (southern Poland)

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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