Heavy metals are constantly emitted into the environment and pose a major threat to human health, particularly in urban areas. The threat is linked to the presence of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in street dust, which consists of mineral and organic particles originating from the soil, industrial emitters, motor vehicles, and fuel consumption. The study objective was to determine the level of street dust contamination with trace metals in Lublin and to indicate their potential sources of origin. The analyses were carried out with an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The sampling sites (49) were located within the city streets characterised by varying intensity of motor traffic. The following mean content values and their variation (SD) were determined:
Street dust forms as a result of the interaction of the atmosphere, lithosphere (pedosphere) and anthroposphere and can be regarded as an index of the condition of the environment in urban areas. At the end of the twentieth century, there was a significant decrease in heavy metal emissions in Europe, but not so intensive in Poland. The question arises: Is the intensity of pollution still decreasing? The study objective was to assess changes in street dust pollution with heavy metals in Lublin (E Poland) in the years 2013 and 2018. The sample collection sites (68) were located within streets with a varying intensity of motor traffic. Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations were determined in two dust fractions, 63-200 μm and < 63 μm, by means of an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The levels of street dust pollution with heavy metals, expressed both in absolute concentrations and geochemical indices, were lower in 2018 than those in 2013. The clearest decrease of concentration levels occurred within the main roads, in the 63-200 μm fraction for Cu and Cd, and in both fractions for Pb. The mean concentrations of the investigated metals, normalised to the background values, are in the following order for both fractions in 2013 and 2018: Zn > Cd > Cu > Cr > Pb > Ni. Metals form the following order for I geo and EF: Zn > Cd > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni. This order is slightly different for the ecological risk factor: Cd > Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr > Ni. In general, street dust in Lublin does not show contamination with Cr, Ni and Pb. I geo and EF indices show moderate levels of pollution with Cu, Cd and Zn.
In the paper, the pollution of playgrounds in Lublin with heavy metals was assessed. Since playgrounds are a place of activity of children-the most vulnerable group of city residents, identifying the degree of pollution and the related health hazards is particularly important. 50 playgrounds were investigated, and samples were collected from three types of places: soil in the playgrounds, soil beneath the swings and soil in the sandpits (a total of 91 samples); heavy metal levels were determined in the < 0.05-mm fraction. The mean heavy metal levels were Cd-4.7 mg kg −1 , Cr-192.4 mg kg −1 , Cu-16.3 mg kg −1 , Hg-0.027 mg kg −1 , Ni-12.7 mg kg −1 , Pb-41 mg kg −1 , and Zn-79.8 mg kg −1 , and they were in the following order when normalised to the geochemical background: Cd > Cr > Zn > Pb > Hg > Ni > Cu. The highest mean levels occurred in the case of soil collected from beneath the swings (Cd, Cr, Ni and Zn) or soil in the playgrounds (Cu, Hg and Pb). Geochemical indices such as I geo and EF indicate the lack of pollution or low level of pollution with Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn and Pb. Moderate or considerable pollution with Cd and, sporadically, with Hg occurred in some playgrounds. A significant ecological risk was found for all samples due to the presence of Cd and, for about 20% of the samples, the concentration of Hg. In all the cases analysed, the values of health hazard indices (HI, CR) for children are very low and well below the hazard threshold for each element.
The current study provides new data on δ 13 C of carbonates from the REE-rich Paleozoic Kovdor massif. It is an ultramafic, alkaline and carbonatite intrusion in the northeastern part of the Baltic Shield (Kola region, Russia). The carbonates have been sampled from the main outcrop of the phoscoritecarbonatite Kovdor massif. According to Rb-Sr and U-Pb data, its age is 420-360 Ma [3, 10]. The massif was formed in the active zone of a continental type as a result of hot spot plutonism on the Kola Peninsula. The selected ore minerals have been analyzed with optical and electron microscopy (Hitachi SU6600 with EDS attachment), whereas δ 13 C has been determined in the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. The works aim at studying the stable isotope in representative Ca-Mg-Sr carbonatites sampled by V.V. Balagansky in 2003. They have been analyzed using ICP-OAS and XRF in the Department of Soil Science in order to estimate metal concentrations.
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