Screening of the spatial distribution of risk metals in topsoil from an industrial complex

Abstract

For the sustainable development of urban areas, it is necessary to identify if environmental pollution exists and where hot spot pollution sources lie. In this study, 280 topsoil samples were collected from an industry estate in Zlin (the Czech Republic). In these samples, the presence of toxic metal was analyzed by energy dispersed X-Ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), and statistical analysis revealed that the major anthropogenic contaminants in the topsoil were Pb, Zn and Sn. Further contaminant analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) determined the maximum contents of 28558.47 mg/kg for Pb, 1132.35 mg/kg for Sn and 2865.22 mg/kg for Zn in selected topsoil samples. According to soil pollution index results, the main proportion of topsoil is contaminated, with the possible sources of contamination being traffic and a nearby municipal heating plant. This study proves that the combination of preliminary ED-XRF topsoil analysis, a multivariative statistical approach, AAS analysis and the geographical information system (GIS) is effective and together form a powerful tool for mapping topsoil contamination and conducting an environmental risk assessment.