title: Assessment of Ecological Risk of Heavy Metal Contamination in Coastal Municipalities of Montenegro.
abstract: Assessment of heavy metal concentrations in the soil samples of urban parks and playgrounds is very important for the evaluation of potential risks for residents, especially children. Until recently, there has been very little data about urban parks pollution in Montenegro. To evaluate the sources of potential contamination and concentration of heavy metals, soil samples from coastal urban parks and kindergartens of Montenegro were collected. Based on the heavy metal concentrations, multivariate analysis combined with geochemical approaches showed that soil samples in coastal areas of Montenegro had mean Pb and Cd concentrations that were over two times higher than the background values, respectively. Based on principal component analysis (PCA), soil pollution with Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn is contributed by anthropogenic sources. Results for Cr in the surface soils were primarily derived from natural sources. Calculation of different ecological contamination factors showed that Cd is the primary contribution to ecological risk index (RI) origins from anthropogenic, industry, and urbanization sources. This data provides evidence about soil pollution in coastal municipalities of Montenegro. Special attention should be paid to this problem in order to continue further research and to consider possible ways of remediation of the sites where contamination has been observed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health of Montenegro DžonaDžeksona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro. boban.mugosa@ijzcg.me.
authors.forename: Boban
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mugoša
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health of Montenegro DžonaDžeksona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro. dil@t-com.me.
authors.forename: Dijana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Đurović
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health of Montenegro DžonaDžeksona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro. mirjana.nedovic_vukovic@ijzcg.me.
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nedović-Vuković
authors.affiliation: Health Centre of Bar, JovanaTomaševića 42, 85000 Bar, Montenegro. montelabovic@t-com.me.
authors.forename: Snežana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barjaktarović-Labović
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. mmvchem@sezampro.rs.
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vrvić
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D007221:Industry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D054548:Montenegro; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: ecological risk index; pollution; soil; urban parks