The soils situated near the abandoned mines are highly polluted with metals due to the discharge and dispersion of mine waste into nearby air, water (surface and groundwater) and soil. Heavy metals may be transferred to humans through ingestion, inhalation or dermal absorption and can produce serious health problems affect the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, hematopoietic function and cellular metabolism. This paper investigates the presence of metallic elements from fourteen soil samples (seven sampling points) and thirty-six vegetation samples (different types of leaves, plants, roots and tree barks). The samples were collected from six different sites located in an abandoned mining area and from a point (blank sample) located 5 km in the SV direction of the quarry. The results obtained for soil samples show an overrun of the alert and / or intervention threshold for the following metals: arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc. The analytical investigation for vegetation samples indicated that concentration for calcium, magnesium, cadmium, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc were situated over the normal range in some samples. The analytical investigations were performed by optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The study�s conclusion indicates that, as result of soil acidic pH and high mobility of some metals, metallic elements migrate from soil to vegetation.

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The paper presents a monitoring study of the platinum group metals concentrations in 17 samples of road dust and vegetation from areas with heavy car traffic on several European and national roads in eastern Romania. The Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru concentrations were determined by the ICP-MS technique, the reported values being below the method�s limit of determination for Ir, Pt and Ru both in soil and vegetation. As regards the Pd content, it showed a maximum of 794 mg / kg dry matter in Focsani area (DN2), an area where, according to national data published by National Road Infrastructure Management Company, the traffic average is 16,000 vehicles / 24 h. Approximately 50% of the collected vegetation samples showed a Pd transfer factor from the solid part to the vegetation higher than 0.5, thus indicating the existence of Pd toxic compounds bioavailable for vegetation. The highest concentrations of Rh in soil were recorded on a high traffic section on the E85, in Ramnicu Sarat area, where the traffic interval ranges from 8,001 to 16,000 vehicles / 24 h.

Mining activities are recognized as generating adverse effects on the environmental quality. The waste resulted from ore processing activities settled on the ponds was established as a significant pollution source of the soil and groundwater in the site areas. The paper presents the spatio-temporal variation of the characteristics of groundwater in the area of a waterproofed pond, located near two other tailings ponds, unenriched, of an age of over 30 years. Groundwater quality is highlighted in an area situated in the north of the country in terms of metals content determined in several seasonal campaigns.

The paper presents soil quality assessment using pollution and bioavailability indexes in order to highlight possible pollution generated by a decommissioned mining area in Certej, Deva County, Romania. Metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were analyzed in pseudo-total and mobile form and the results were correlated with the content found in the vegetation collected from the same points during a previous study. The research shows a high mobility for Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively, a moderate mobility for Cd.

This paper is reporting the data of a preliminary study on heavy metals distribution in the fluid and solid phases involved in dry and classified aluminium hydroxide production through Bayer process. For heavy metals released in the fluid phases, the main source of contamination is the bauxite through its mineralogical phases soluble or insoluble in alkaline solution. It was shown that predominant way to transfer contaminating elements in aluminium hydroxide particles is the occlusion of very fine particles coming from mineralogical phases of bauxite residue. New born mineralogical phases from bauxite residue, like poor crystallized sodalite and cancrinite, are the most active occlusion contaminants

The effectiveness of some chemical matrix modifiers for the determination of lead, chromium, selenium and arsenic in sediments and soils by Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry have been evaluated. The addition of certain chemical modifiers decreases the volatility of the analyte element, preventing its loss during pyrolysis step while increasing the volatility of matrix components promoting a better separation also allows a higher pretreatment temperature for better separation between analyte and matrix. Pyrolysis and atomization temperatures, characteristic masses and detection limits of analytes in dissolved samples with and without modifiers have been compared. The method was validated by analysing certified reference lake sediment and soil materials.

Urbanization and the rise in the standard of living generated both a higher quantity of waste and the expansion of cities with the incorporation of solid waste landfills located originally outside. In many cities across Romania, landfills are placed very close to settlements, and in some cases even inside cities. Beside landfill activities, other companies that deal with waste sorting, recycling and treatment operates nearby. All these activities generate odorous compounds that create odour nuisance. The current study was conducted in order to evaluate the impact of a landfill located in a highly urbanized area using dynamic olfactometry with the main objective to assess the level of odour concentration and the impact on the population. Samples were taken around the landfill always from a point opposite to the wind direction. Also, in parallel with odour sampling it was determined the concentration of two main chemical specific compounds, NH3 and H2S, in order to verify the compliance with environmental legislation, and the level of VOC to establish a correlation with the odour level. Measurement results indicate a high level of odour concentration in most of the samples, a good correlation with VOC and frequent exceeded values for the specific chemical compounds. Annoyance level was also high and it was evaluated using FIDOL factors, which are Frequency, Intensity, Duration, Offensiveness and Location.