Soil Pollution with Copper, Lead and Zinc in the Surroundings of Large Copper Ore Tailings Impoundment

Abstract

Analysis of the top-soil total content of heavy metals was carried out inthe vicinity of large copper ore tailings pound in the south-western Poland with regard to soil properties, direction and distance from the tailings pound. None of the soils under study ex-ceeded the limits admitted in the official standards for soil quality, but the assessment made in accordance with IUNG-guidelines to soil contamination determination showed that more than half of the monitoring sites have elevated metal content, Cu, in par-ticular. The results confirmed high effectiveness of dust control preventing its eolian spread from the tailings pound.