Pre-War Situation with Soil Pollution in the City of Zaporizhzhia – Metallurgical Industry Centre in Ukraine - Characterized by Magnetic, Geochemical and Microscopy Methods

Abstract

Metallurgical industries incorporated into the living environment of the city cause significant enrichment of the topsoil with harmful substances including small size particulate matter, which contains heavy metals and magnetic iron oxides. The present study is focused on characterization of magnetic and geochemical pollution accumulated by urban soils in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Industrial dusts from the most powerful emmitants of airborne pollution are also analyzed. Two types of magnetic industrial emissions were discriminated to contribute in urban soil magnetization: spread of coarse-grained magnetite-bearing particles is limited to industrial zone, while smaller magnetic spherules were traced to settle far from the pollution sources bringing significant amounts of heavy metals to the soil. Magnetic susceptibility, saturation remanence and anhysteretic ratio of soil samples show strong relationship with heavy metals contents and Pollution Load Index. Thus magnetic parameters can serve as reliable proxies for complex urban and industrial pollution of soils. The obtained results provide important insight into magnetism and geochemistry of urban soils in Zaporizhzhia, characterizing the pollution rate as it was before missile attacks, aerial bombardments and artillery shelling of the city by russian invaders started since 24 February 2022.