Heavy metal pollution in the vicinity of a secondary lead smelter in the Czech Republic

The aim of the study was to determine the major sources and the extent of heavy-metal pollution in a mining and smelting region of the Czech Republic where concern had been expressed over high lead levels. Soils (0-5 and 15-30 cm) were sampled from 200 sites along 2 transects which crossed the mining and smelter areas, the town centre and outlying rural areas. Samples were analysed for levels of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, As and Sb, using ICP-AES. Soil concentrations of all the metals peaked in the smelter area with Pb levels of up to 37,300 ppm. Smaller peaks occurred in the mining area and the town centre. Moving away from the smelter, metal concentrations decreased exponentially over the first 1 km with a less steep decrease between 1 and 6 km. In residential areas in the smelter and mining zones, metal concentrations significantly breached the threshold trigger values set in the U.K. by the Interdepartmental Committee on the Reclamation of Contaminated Land (ICRCL). Particulate material from the smelter stack appears to contaminate soils up to at least 6 km. However, high metal levels in the immediate smelter area may be due primarily to fugitive emissions. Metal concentrations were significantly higher in soils sampled from woodland areas relative to other, non-wooded sites along the transects. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd