Heavy metals in the soils of Bloemfontein, South Africa: concentration levels and possible sources

Heavy metals in the soils of Bloemfontein, South Africa: concentration levels and possible sources

The possible heavy metal and metalloid contamination in the soils around a coal-generated power station, situated on the eastern end of the central business district of Bloemfontein, central South Africa, was investigated. One-hundred and thirty-three samples (22 dust samples collected inside buildi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 187; no. 7; p. 439
Main Authors: Clark, J. H. A., Tredoux, M., van Huyssteen, C. W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-07-2015
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Animals
Arsenic - analysis
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Cadmium
Central business districts
Coal
Coal - analysis
Contamination
Dust
Dust - analysis
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
Electricity
Environment
Environmental Management
Environmental Monitoring
Heavy metals
Horses
Houses
Industrial areas
Industry
Mercury
Metals
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Power Plants
Scientific imaging
Selenium - analysis
Soil - chemistry
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Soil pollution
Soils
South Africa
South Africa
Deficiencies
South Africa
Enrichment factors
Heavy metals
Coal
As and horses
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Summary:The possible heavy metal and metalloid contamination in the soils around a coal-generated power station, situated on the eastern end of the central business district of Bloemfontein, central South Africa, was investigated. One-hundred and thirty-three samples (22 dust samples collected inside buildings and 111 soil samples) were collected for the study and analysed for As, Se, Cd, Sb and Hg. The results indicated generally elevated levels for Cd, Sb and Hg, and some localised contamination of As, but no significant increases in the non-metal Se. In fact, Se levels indicated a deficiency of the element in the study area. In general, the dust samples showed elevated levels of all elements (except Se) relative to the soils. A possible source for the enrichment might have been the release of ash, containing trace amounts of these elements, from the local power station; however, because the highest concentration in soils was found in the industrial areas, other processes could have contributed or even have been the sole cause of the elevated levels. High levels of As occur at an abandoned horse race course and were probably caused by the questionable practice of administering As-containing tonics to the horses shortly before they run a race.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-015-4608-1