ENRICHMENT OF SOME POTENTIALLY TOXIC ELEMENTS IN SOILS AFFECTED BY Pb-Zn MINING AND METALLURGICAL PROCESSING IN THE MITROVICA REGION, KOSOVO

The results of a study on the presence and enrichment of potentially toxic elements in surface soil in the Mitrovica region, Kosovo, are reported. The investigated region (301.5 km2) was covered by a sampling grid of 1.4×1.4 km and a total of 156 soil samples were collected. Inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied for the determination of anthropogenic association of 12 elements: Ag, As, Au, Bi, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Mo, Sb, Tl and Zn. For data evaluation, parametric and non-parametric statistics methods were used. Soil contamination is assessed on the basis of enrichment factor (EF). The average content of Pb was 19.6-fold; Cd 11-fold; Hg 5-fold; Zn 4.5-fold; As 4.3-fold; Sb 3.8-fold; Cu 3.2-fold and Ag 1.6-fold higher that European average values. Increased levels of the content of these metals showed that mining and smelter processing activities strongly affected in soils of the towns of Zveçan and Mitrovica and their environs. In the close vicinity of the cities of Zveçan and Mitrovica, the contents of the As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were even higher than the corresponding intervention values according to the New Dutch list and were exceed in 122 km2 of the investigated area. Key words: soil pollution; potentially toxic elements; Mitrovica; Republic of Kosov

Arsenic in Surface Soils Affected by Mining and Metallurgical Processing in K. Mitrovica Region, Kosovo

The results of a study on the spatial distribution of arsenic in topsoil (0–5 cm) over the K. Mitrovica region, Kosovo, are reported. The investigated region (300 km2) was covered by a sampling grid of 1.4 km × 1.4 km. In total, 159 soil samples were collected from 149 locations. Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied for the determination of arsenic levels. It was found that the average content of arsenic in the topsoil for the entire study area was 30 mg/kg (from 2.1 to 3,900 mg/kg) which exceeds the estimated European arsenic average in topsoil by a factor of 4.3. Contents of arsenic in the topsoil exceeded the optimum value recommended by the new Dutchlist (29 mg/kg As) in 124 km2. The action value (55 mg/kg As) was exceeded in 64 km2, with the average content of 105 mg/kg (from 55 to 3,900 mg/kg As)

Distribution of Cadmium in Surface soils in K. Mitrovica Region, Kosovo

The results of the study of spatial distribution of cadmium in topsoil (0–5 cm) over the K. Mitrovica region, Kosovo, are reported. The investigated region (300 km2) is covered by a sampling grid of 1.4×1.4 km. In total 159 soil samples from 149 locations were collected. Inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) were applied for the determination of cadmium. Data analysis and construction of the map were performed using the Paradox (ver. 9), Statistica (ver. 6.1), AutoDesk Map (ver. 2008) and Surfer (ver. 8.09) software. It was found that the average content of Cd in the topsoil for the entire study area is 3.25 mg/kg (with a range of 0.10–46.8 mg/kg) which exceeds the estimated European Cd average of topsoil by a factor of 27. It is evident that the content of cadmium is very high in the topsoils from the areas of the lead and zinc smelter plant, as well as in the topsoils from the part of the city of K. Mitrovica. In the region of Zvečan and K. Mitrovica several topsoil samples with extremely high content of cadmium are present. The main polluted area was found that covers 5.9 km2 with the average concentration of Cd is 14 mg/kg (from 12 to 47 mg/kg)