Trace element concentrations and stable lead isotopes in soils as tracers of lead pollution in Graft-De Rijp, the Netherlands

Walraven, N.; Os, Bertil van; Klaver, G.; Baker, J. H.; Vriend, S.P.

doi:10.1016/s0375-6742(96)00056-8

Cited by 59 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Deuterium isotope signatures (d 2 H) of ground versus rain waters, for example, can be used to determine the relative contribution of ephemeral versus permanent water sources for the sustenance of woody vegetation (Dawson 1993). In other applications, distinctive carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures (d 13 C and d 15 N 1 ) of various food sources can be used to determine their relative contribution to an animal's diet (Michener and Schell 1994), and heavy metal (e.g., lead) isotopes can identify natural versus anthropogenic sources of soil contaminants (Walraven et al 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources

2003

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Stable isotopes are increasingly being used as tracers in environmental studies. One application is to use isotopic ratios to quantitatively determine the proportional contribution of several sources to a mixture, such as the proportion of various pollution sources in a waste stream. In general, the proportional contributions of n+1 different sources can be uniquely determined by the use of n different isotope system tracers (e.g., delta13C, delta15N, delta18O) with linear mixing models based on mass balance equations. Often, however, the number of potential sources exceeds n+1, which prevents finding a unique solution of source proportions. What can be done in these situations? While no definitive solution exists, we propose a method that is informative in determining bounds for the contributions of each source. In this method, all possible combinations of each source contribution (0-100%) are examined in small increments (e.g., 1%). Combinations that sum to the observed mixture isotopic signatures within a small tolerance (e.g., +/-0.1 per thousand ) are considered to be feasible solutions, from which the frequency and range of potential source contributions can be determined. To avoid misrepresenting the results, users of this procedure should report the distribution of feasible solutions rather than focusing on a single value such as the mean. We applied this method to a variety of environmental studies in which stable isotope tracers were used to quantify the relative magnitude of multiple sources, including (1) plant water use, (2) geochemistry, (3) air pollution, and (4) dietary analysis. This method gives the range of isotopically determined source contributions; additional non-isotopic constraints specific to each study may be used to further restrict this range. The breadth of the isotopically determined ranges depends on the geometry of the mixing space and the similarity of source and mixture isotopic signatures. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the estimated ranges vary only modestly with different choices of source increment and mass balance tolerance parameter values. A computer program (IsoSource) to perform these calculations for user-specified data is available at http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/models.htm.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources

2003

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“…Nowadays lead isotope ratios are widely used to trace pollution, for which it is necessary to know the isotope ratios of a possible emission source (Renberg et al, 2002;Flament et al, 2002;Martinez Cortizas et al, 2002, Chen et al, 2005, Kylander et al, 2005. Data on lead isotope ratios for different ores and pollution sources, including some coals, are already available in the literature (Sugden et al, 1993;Walraven et al, 1997;Farmer et al, 1999;Weiss et al, 1999 and2002;Mukai et al, 2001;Chen et al, 2005). However, most of these data were obtained for a small number of coals and there is still a need for a wide-ranging database on lead isotope ratios in coals of different origin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead isotope ratios in Spanish coals of different characteristics and origin

Dı́az-Somoano

Suárez‐Ruíz

Alonso

et al. 2007

International Journal of Coal Geology

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Lead isotope ratios in coals of different rank from several Spanish basins were estimated and related with their characteristics. The isotope 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratio values of the coals studied range between 1.13-1.21, with the exception of some coal samples from the Cretaceous which are more radiogenic. Coals were classified into groups according to their lead isotope ratios. These in turn were related to the isotope ratios of the minerals galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and carbonates. Some of the low-rank coals, in which lead might be expected to be associated to the organic matter, were not found to be related with isotope ratios of minerals. The isotope ratios of the individual densimetric fractions separated from a bituminous coal are different to those of the raw coal. The differences between these isotope ratios may not only be due to the diverse origin of lead in different coals, but also to the possible presence of several lead species incorporated from various sources in a particular coal. The results of this work represent an important contribution to the lead isotope ratio database essential for the accurate interpretation of data regarding pollution sources.

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“…The atmosphere is recognized as a major means of transport Barrie 1987, 1989;Grousset et al 1994;Erel et al 1997;Gallon et al 2005), but fluvial transport also constitutes a vector of pollution (Swennen et al 1994;Monna et al 2000;Ettler et al 2006). In other research, isotopic ratios of lead were used to examine soil and tree rings (Gulson et al 1981;Eklund 1995;Walvaren et al 1997;Hou et al 2006). According to many researchers, the chemical composition of tree rings reflects the composition of the surrounding environments, particularly changes in soil chemistry (Guyette et al 1991;Padilla and Anderson 2002;Kabata-Pendias 2004).…”

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Isotopic Record of Lead Contamination in Alluvial Soils and Tree Rings on Recent Floodplains (Southern Québec, Canada)

Saint-Laurent

St-Laurent

Duplessis

et al. 2009

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Current and past industrial pollution leaves many traces in the environment, in particular along rivers in industrial and urban areas. The isotopic analysis of the lead found in soils and tree rings offers a kind of environmental archive for presenting a portrait of the pollutant distribution in the environment in both spatial and temporal terms. This study is an attempt to identify and compare the source of contamination found in soils and tree rings located along two rivers affected by pollution over several years. Specifically, the focus is on the pattern of lead concentrations and lead isotopic signatures (206Pb/ 207Pb, 208Pb/206Pb, and 206Pb/204Pb) detected in soils and tree rings located on polluted floodplains. The concentration of Pb in overbank sediments does not rise with the increasing distance downstream from the point source (mining area), suggesting that significant fluvial transport of the pollutant particles over 80 km is involved. For the soil profiles, Pb concentration levels range between 12.32 and 149.13 mg/kg, with the highest concentrations found at the base of the profiles (>1 m). For the lead isotope ratios in the soil profiles, the values obtained range from 0.851 to 0.872 (206Pb/207Pb), 2.081 to 2.111 (208Pb/206Pb), and 0.547 to 0.562 (206Pb/204Pb). The tree ring analysis of red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) shows average lead concentrations of 0.63 μg/g, and the lead values of all the tree specimens range between 0.03 and 11.38 μg/g. Pb concentrations varied greatly between the specimens in selected sites and lead isotope ratios in the tree rings showed a strong variability in the time series, particularly from 1945 to 1970. The greater number of variations in the lead concentration rates and isotopic ratios suggest that many more events associated with pollution and contamination have in fact occurred in this area. The study demonstrates the utility of combining stable isotope analyses (soils and tree rings) to examine the source and dispersion of contaminant Pb in fluvial systems by providing reliable and robust indicators for the detection of environmental changes on a local and regional scale.

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Trace element concentrations and stable lead isotopes in soils as tracers of lead pollution in Graft-De Rijp, the Netherlands

Cited by 59 publications

References 14 publications

Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources

Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources

Lead isotope ratios in Spanish coals of different characteristics and origin

Isotopic Record of Lead Contamination in Alluvial Soils and Tree Rings on Recent Floodplains (Southern Québec, Canada)

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