Ecological and geochemical study of land (soils) within urbanized areas of Belarus for the differentiated norming of pollutant content. I. Arsenic and mercury

  • Oleg V. Lukashev Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus
  • Natalia V. Zhukovskaya Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus
  • Natalia G. Lukasheva Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus
  • Irina I. Ilyukova Scientific and Practical Center of Hygiene, 8 Akademičnaja Street, Minsk 220012, Belarus c
  • Vladimir V. Savchenko Design of Mining Enterprises, LLC, 169 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220114, Belarus

Abstract

The article presents the ecological and geochemical research results of As and Hg in soils within urbanized areas of Belarus. 292 soil samples have been analyzed for As and Hg content (of which 148 samples were taken within Minsk, 132 – regional and district centres, and 12 – Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve). Determination of As and Hg total content has been carried out by atomic absorption method. Outside the industrial sites, the territories of enterprises and dumps, a fairly stable average level of As in the humus horizon, determined by natural factors (mainly mineralogical) has been observed. The average content of the element in the soils of the recreational zone for Belarus as a whole is 0.57 mg / kg, in the residential area is 0.48 mg / kg, in the transport zone is 0.64 mg / kg, in the industrial zone is 0.57 mg / kg. The average
content of As in the soils of Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve agricultural lands is 0.50 mg / kg. An insignificant accumulation of As in the soils of the transport zone has been revealed (concentration coefficient is 1.2). The minimum median value (about 0.01 mg / kg), close to the world clark, has been established for Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve agricultural lands, the recreational and residential (0.013 mg / kg) zones in general. Median values of Hg content in transport soils (0.036 mg / kg) and industrial zones (0.021 mg / kg), respectively, are 3.6 and 2.1 times higher. The obtained geochemical indicators has been used when developing soil contamination standards.

Author Biographies

Oleg V. Lukashev, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

PhD (geology and mineralogy), docent; head of the department of regional geology, faculty of geography

Natalia V. Zhukovskaya, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

PhD (geography); associate professor at the department of soil science and land information systems, faculty of geography

Natalia G. Lukasheva, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

laboratory assistant at the research and development laboratory of landscape ecology, faculty of geography

Irina I. Ilyukova, Scientific and Practical Center of Hygiene, 8 Akademičnaja Street, Minsk 220012, Belarus c

PhD (medicine); head of the laboratory of preventive and ecological toxicology

Vladimir V. Savchenko, Design of Mining Enterprises, LLC, 169 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220114, Belarus

PhD (geology and mineralogy); deputy director for science

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Published
2019-01-19
Keywords: soil geochemistry, metals, soil contamination, maximum permissible concentration (MPC), urbanized areas, functional zones
How to Cite
Lukashev, O. V., Zhukovskaya, N. V., Lukasheva, N. G., Ilyukova, I. I., & Savchenko, V. V. (2019). Ecological and geochemical study of land (soils) within urbanized areas of Belarus for the differentiated norming of pollutant content. I. Arsenic and mercury. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Geography and Geology, 2, 59-73. Retrieved from https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/geography/article/view/823
Issue
No 2 (2018): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Geography and Geology
Section
Geology

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