Institute of Environmental Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 Sklodowska-Curie St, 41-819, Zabrze, Poland.
Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2017 Dec;24(34):26410-26423. doi: 10.1007/s11356-017-0218-5. Epub 2017 Sep 25.
The main objective of the study was an assessment of the pollution level of agricultural land located close to dumps of industrial waste remaining after former Zn and Pb ore processing in Poland. The integrated geophysical-geochemical methods were applied for assessment of soil quality with respect to trace element pollution. Additionally, human health risk induced by the contaminated arable soil and dusting slag heap was estimated. The investigations pointed out that soils in the vicinity of the metallurgical slag dump in Piekary were heavily polluted. Spatial distribution of magnetic susceptibility corresponding well with distribution of the content of potentially toxic elements indicated the local "pollution hotspots." Proper geophysical and geochemical data interpretation supported by statistical factor analysis enabled identification of three different sources of pollution including metallurgical slug dump as a main source, but also traffic pollution influencing the area located along the busy road and relatively strong influence of the geochemical background. Computed health hazard index revealed no adverse health effect to the farmers cultivating arable soil, but in the direct vicinity of dusting, slag dump health risk occurred, caused mostly by very toxic elements as As and Tl. In the future, investigation should be focused on contribution of different sources to the heavy metal pollution in soil-crop system in this area. It should be highlighted that a site-specific approach should be taken in order to redevelop this kind of area in order to reduce ecological and human health threat. The study proved the integrated two-stage geophysical-geochemical method to be a feasible, reliable, and cost-effective tool for identification of the extent of soil pollution and areas at risk.
本研究的主要目的是评估波兰一处靠近 Zn 和 Pb 矿石加工厂遗留工业废料倾倒场的农业用地的污染水平。采用了综合地球物理-地球化学方法来评估土壤中微量元素污染情况。此外，还评估了受污染耕地和扬尘渣堆对人体健康的风险。调查指出，皮耶卡里（Piekary）冶金渣堆附近的土壤受到了严重污染。磁化率的空间分布与潜在有毒元素的含量分布非常吻合，表明存在局部“污染热点”。通过统计因子分析对适当的地球物理和地球化学数据进行解释，能够识别出三个不同的污染源，包括冶金渣堆作为主要污染源，但也包括交通污染（影响沿繁忙道路的区域）和较强的地球化学背景的影响。计算出的健康危害指数表明，农民在耕地中种植不会对其健康造成不良影响，但在扬尘渣堆的直接附近，健康风险会发生，主要是由于 As 和 Tl 等非常有毒的元素。未来，应重点研究该地区土壤-作物系统中不同污染源对重金属污染的贡献。值得强调的是，应采取特定场地的方法来开发此类地区，以减少生态和人类健康威胁。本研究证明，综合的两阶段地球物理-地球化学方法是一种可行、可靠且具有成本效益的工具，可用于识别土壤污染的程度和风险区域。
