Assessment of the Spatial Distribution of Metal(Oid)s in Soils Around an Abandoned Pb-Smelter Plant.
Todos os Santos (All Saints) Bay area, NE-Brazil, is known for one of the most important cases of urban lead (Pb) contamination in the world. The main objective of this work was to assess and interpret the spatial distribution of As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and Zn in "background" soils of this environmentally impacted bay area, using a combination of geostatistical and multivariate analytical methods to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic sources of those metal(oid)s in soils. We collected 114 topsoil samples (0.0-0.2 m depth) from 38 sites. The median values for trace metal concentrations in soils (mg kg-1) followed the order Pb (33.9) > Zn (8.8) > As (1.2) > Cd (0.2) > Hg (0.07), clearly reflecting a Pb-contamination issue. Principal component analysis linked Cd, Pb, and Zn to the same factor (F1), chiefly corroborating their anthropogenic origin; yet, both Pb and Zn are also influenced by natural lithogenic sources. Arsenic and Hg concentrations (F2) are likely related to the natural component alone; their parent material (igneous-metamorphic rocks) seemingly confirm this hypothesis. The heterogeneity of sources and the complexity of the spatial distribution of metals in large areas such as the Todos os Santos Bay warrant, the importance of multivariate and geostatistical analyses in the interpretation of environmental data.
Department of Agronomy, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco Dom Manuel de Medeiros street, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil.
Nielson Machado
NM
Dos Santos
Department of Agronomy, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco Dom Manuel de Medeiros street, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil. clistenes.nascimento@ufrpe.br.
Clístenes Williams Araújo
CW
do Nascimento
TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Centre, Brennhausgasse 14, Freiberg, 09599, Germany.
Jörg
J
Matschullat
Science and Technology Center, State University of Paraíba, Juvêncio Arruda street,-Campus Universitário-Bodocongó, Campina Grande, PB, 58109-790, Brazil.
Ricardo Alves
RA
de Olinda
D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D058955:Metalloids / Q000032:analysis*; D008669:Metallurgy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis
D058955:Metalloids; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements; D007854:Lead
Lead; Soil pollution; Soil quality; Trace elements; arsenic