Lead concentration and the content of selected macroelements in lake sediments in Poland

Lead has been used extensively for thousands of years. Once introduced into the environment, like any other heavy metal, lead accumulates in soil and sediments. High lead concentrations in river and lake sediments can be harmful to aquatic organisms. At present, uncontaminated water sediments in the northern and central parts of Poland contain below 9 mg of lead per kg. The lakes located within the following lake districts: Greater Poland, Pomeranian and Masurian, provided 409 samples of surface sediments from deep spots (the profundal zone). All the samples were tested for the content of Pb and other selected macroelements. The content of Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, Pb and S was determined by ICP-OES and the total organic carbon (TOC) was evaluated by the coulometric titration method. The observed range of lead concentration was from below 3 to 222 mg kg-1. The average content was 37 mg kg-1, the geometric mean 30 mg kg-1, and the median 33 mg kg-1. In the majority of samples, the lead concentration was higher than the geochemical background. Only in 5.77% of the samples, the lead content was lower than 10 mg kg-1. The lead concentration in the sediments was relatively well correlated with the total organic carbon (r = 0.59), aluminium (r = 0.45) and sulphur (r = 0.47), moderately correlated with iron (r = 0.26) and potassium (r = 0.28), very weakly correlated with phosphorus (r = 0.12) and negatively correlated with the calcium concentration (r = -0.28). No correlation was observed for manganese (r = -0.05), magnesium (r = 0.07) and sodium (r = -0.07). Factor analysis revealed the presence of two factors that together accounted for nearly 45% of variation. The first factor included aluminium, potassium and magnesium, and the second one - sulphur and organic carbon. The lead share was low in the first factor (0.343), but very high in the second factor (0.757). Based on the results of the factor analysis, it can be assumed that lead in the organic matter-rich sediments of the profundal zone is deposited mainly in the form of sulphides. Lead concentration varied among the sediments obtained from various lake districts; it was lower in the lakes located within the Pomeranian Lake District than in those from Greater Poland and Masurian Lakes.Ołów jest wykorzystywany powszechnie od tysięcy lat. Uruchomiony do środowiska, podobnie jak inne metale ciężkie, podlega akumulacji w glebach i osadach wodnych. W osadach rzecznych i jeziornych duża zawartość Pb może szkodliwie oddziaływać na organizmy wodne. We współczesnych niezanieczyszczonych osadach wodnych na obszarze północnej i środkowej części Polski zawartość ołowiu wynosi poniżej 9 mg kg-1. Z jezior Pojezierzy: Wielkopolskiego, Pomorskiego i Mazurskiego pobrano 409 próbek powierzchniowych osadów z głęboczków jezior (strefa profundalna). We wszystkich próbkach określono zawartość Pb oraz wybranych pierwiastków głównych. Zawartość Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, Pb i S określono metodą ICP-OES, a zawartość węgla organicznego (TOC) – metodą kulometrycznego miareczkowania. Stężenie ołowiu wynosiło od <3 do 222 mg kg-1, średnia zawartość – 37 mg kg-1, średnia geometryczna – 30 mg kg-1, a mediana – 33 mg kg-1. W większości zbadanych próbek zawartość ołowiu była podwyższona w stosunku do wartości tła geochemicznego. Jedynie w 5,77% próbek zawartość ołowiu była niższa niż 10 mg kg-1. Stężenie ołowiu w osadach wykazuje stosunkowo wysoką korelację z zawartością węgla organicznego (r = 0,59), glinu (r = 0,45) i siarki (r = 0,47), słabą – ze stężeniem żelaza (r = 0,26) i potasu (r = 0,28), bardzo słabą – ze stężeniem fosforu (r = 0,12), ujemną – z zawartością wapnia (r = -0,28) oraz brak korelacji ze stężeniem manganu (r = -0,05), magnezu (r = 0,07) i sodu (r = -0,07). Analiza czynnikowa wykazała obecność 2 czynników, które łącznie wyjaśniają blisko 45% zmienności. Pierwszy czynnik grupuje glin, potas i magnez, drugi – siarkę i węgiel organiczny. Udział ołowiu w czynniku pierwszym jest niski (0,343), a w drugim – bardzo wysoki – 0,757. Na podstawie wyników analizy czynnikowej można przyjąć, że w bogatych w materię organiczną osadach strefy profundalnej jezior ołów występuje przede wszystkim w formie siarczków. Zaobserwowano zróżnicowanie w zawartości ołowiu w osadach różnych pojezierzy; osady jezior Pojezierza Pomorskiego zawierają mniej Pb niż osady jezior Pojezierzy Wielkopolskiego i Mazurskiego

Zależność między zawartością ołowiu a zawartością wybranych pierwiastków głównych w osadach jezior Polski

Lead has been used extensively for thousands of years. Once introduced into the environment, like any other heavy metal, lead accumulates in soil and sediments. High lead concentrations in river and lake sediments can be harmful to aquatic organisms. At present, uncontaminated water sediments in the northern and central parts of Poland contain below 9 mg of lead per kg. The lakes located within the following lake districts: Greater Poland, Pomeranian and Masurian, provided 409 samples of surface sediments from deep spots (the profundal zone). All the samples were tested for the content of Pb and other selected macroelements. The content of Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, Pb and S was determined by ICP-OES and the total organic carbon (TOC) was evaluated by the coulometric titration method. The observed range of lead concentration was from below 3 to 222 mg kg-1. The average content was 37 mg kg-1, the geometric mean 30 mg kg-1, and the median 33 mg kg-1. In the majority of samples, the lead concentration was higher than the geochemical background. Only in 5.77% of the samples, the lead content was lower than 10 mg kg-1. The lead concentration in the sediments was relatively well correlated with the total organic carbon (r = 0.59), aluminium (r = 0.45) and sulphur (r = 0.47), moderately correlated with iron (r = 0.26) and potassium (r = 0.28), very weakly correlated with phosphorus (r = 0.12) and negatively correlated with the calcium concentration (r = -0.28). No correlation was observed for manganese (r = -0.05), magnesium (r = 0.07) and sodium (r = -0.07). Factor analysis revealed the presence of two factors that together accounted for nearly 45% of variation. The first factor included aluminium, potassium and magnesium, and the second one - sulphur and organic carbon. The lead share was low in the first factor (0.343), but very high in the second factor (0.757). Based on the results of the factor analysis, it can be assumed that lead in the organic matter-rich sediments of the profundal zone is deposited mainly in the form of sulphides. Lead concentration varied among the sediments obtained from various lake districts; it was lower in the lakes located within the Pomeranian Lake District than in those from Greater Poland and Masurian Lakes.Ołów jest wykorzystywany powszechnie od tysięcy lat. Uruchomiony do środowiska, podobnie jak inne metale ciężkie, podlega akumulacji w glebach i osadach wodnych. W osadach rzecznych i jeziornych duża zawartość Pb może szkodliwie oddziaływać na organizmy wodne. We współczesnych niezanieczyszczonych osadach wodnych na obszarze północnej i środkowej części Polski zawartość ołowiu wynosi poniżej 9 mg kg-1. Z jezior Pojezierzy: Wielkopolskiego, Pomorskiego i Mazurskiego pobrano 409 próbek powierzchniowych osadów z głęboczków jezior (strefa profundalna). We wszystkich próbkach określono zawartość Pb oraz wybranych pierwiastków głównych. Zawartość Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, Pb i S określono metodą ICP-OES, a zawartość węgla organicznego (TOC) – metodą kulometrycznego miareczkowania. Stężenie ołowiu wynosiło od <3 do 222 mg kg-1, średnia zawartość – 37 mg kg-1, średnia geometryczna – 30 mg kg-1, a mediana – 33 mg kg-1. W większości zbadanych próbek zawartość ołowiu była podwyższona w stosunku do wartości tła geochemicznego. Jedynie w 5,77% próbek zawartość ołowiu była niższa niż 10 mg kg-1. Stężenie ołowiu w osadach wykazuje stosunkowo wysoką korelację z zawartością węgla organicznego (r = 0,59), glinu (r = 0,45) i siarki (r = 0,47), słabą – ze stężeniem żelaza (r = 0,26) i potasu (r = 0,28), bardzo słabą – ze stężeniem fosforu (r = 0,12), ujemną – z zawartością wapnia (r = -0,28) oraz brak korelacji ze stężeniem manganu (r = -0,05), magnezu (r = 0,07) i sodu (r = -0,07). Analiza czynnikowa wykazała obecność 2 czynników, które łącznie wyjaśniają blisko 45% zmienności. Pierwszy czynnik grupuje glin, potas i magnez, drugi – siarkę i węgiel organiczny. Udział ołowiu w czynniku pierwszym jest niski (0,343), a w drugim – bardzo wysoki – 0,757. Na podstawie wyników analizy czynnikowej można przyjąć, że w bogatych w materię organiczną osadach strefy profundalnej jezior ołów występuje przede wszystkim w formie siarczków. Zaobserwowano zróżnicowanie w zawartości ołowiu w osadach różnych pojezierzy; osady jezior Pojezierza Pomorskiego zawierają mniej Pb niż osady jezior Pojezierzy Wielkopolskiego i Mazurskiego

Thallium hyperaccumulation in Polish populations of Biscutella laevigata (Brassicaceae)

Biscutella laevigata L. is known as a Tl hyperaccumulator. In Poland Biscutella laevigata occurs in the Tatra Mts (Western Carpathians) and on the calamine waste heap in Bolesław near Olkusz (Silesian Upland). The purpose of this work was to evaluate whether plants of both populations were able to accumulate an elevated amount of thallium in their tissues. The plants were cultivated in calamine soil in a glasshouse for a season and studied at different ages – from 2-week-old seedlings to 10-month-old adults. Additionally, the plants were grown for ten weeks in calamine soil with EDTA to enhance Tl bioavailability. The total content of Tl in plant tissues after digestion was determined by ICP-MS, whereas its distribution in leaves was studied by LA-ICP-MS. Of the total content of Tl in the soil in the range of (15.2–66.7) mg·kgˉ¹d.m., only (1.1–2.1) mg·kgˉ¹d.m. was present in a bioavailable form. The mean content in all the plants grown on the soil without EDTA was 98.5 mg·kgˉ¹d.m. The largest content was found in leaves – 164.9 mg·kgˉ¹d.m. (max. 588.2 mg·kgˉ¹d.m.). In the case of plants grown on the soil enriched with EDTA, the mean content in plants increased to 108.9 mg·kgˉ¹d.m., max. in leaves – 138.4 mg·kgˉ¹d.m. (max. 1100 mg·kgˉ¹d.m.). The translocation factor was 6.1 in the soil and 2.2 in the soil with EDTA; the bioconcentration factor amounted to 10.9 and 5.8, respectively. The plants from both populations did not contain a Tl amount clearly indicating hyperaccumulation (100–500 mg·kgˉ¹d.m.), however, high (>1) translocation and bioconcentration factors suggest such an ability. It is a characteristic species-wide trait; B. laevigata L. is a facultative Tl hyperaccumulator. The largest Tl amount was located at the leaf base, the smallest at its top. Thallium also occurred in trichomes, which was presented for the first time; in this way plants detoxify Tl in the above-ground parts. Leaves were much more hairy in the Bolesław plants. This is an adaptation for growth in the extreme conditions of the zinc-lead waste heap with elevated Tl quantity

Chain of Testimony: The Holocaust Researcher as Surrogate Witness

Despite extensive critical debate, a positivist view of historical research which aspires to a dispassionate engagement with sources is still rife. Yet certain types of traumatic material, such as survivors' testimony and the Scrolls of Auschwitz, evoke powerful emotions and can stimulate in the researcher various kinds of phantasy. Is there some way that we can address these issues without ‘psychologising’ the Holocaust and Holocaust research? Can we simultaneously respect the historical material, the memory of the victims and the often unruly feelings that Holocaust research can excite? Can rigorous analysis sit comfortably alongside a more psycho-dynamically reflexive stance, and might the process of research be enriched by it? This paper discusses these issues through the concept of a ‘chain of testimony’ into which the researcher is inserted, thereby becoming in some sense a surrogate witness. It reflects upon the psycho-social dimensions of my own work and that of other children of Holocaust survivors, as well as other researchers in the field, including those examining the Scrolls of Auschwitz

The recognizable European. Sebald’s and Tišma’s human geographies of stitches and scars

This article describes how two novels with a strong European presence from the 1990s onward, Aleksandar Tišma’s The Book of Blam and W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz, offer an understanding of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s through the prism of the Holocaust. First, a reading of Austerlitz reveals an intriguing lacuna in Sebald’s melancholic map of Europe. I read this lacuna, using Judith Butler’s notion of ‘the recognizable human’, as Sebald’s predominantly Western-European perspective. I then place this next to Aleksandar Tišma’s conception of Srednja Evropa. This European middle space offers more suggestive and ambivalent East-West imagery for post-1989 Europe, and also, as I contend, a more complex framing of the Yugoslav wars with reference to the Holocaust. The essay will then try to assess literary fiction’s renewed claim on the real, particularly with respect to the distribution of ‘the recognizable human’ within the various zones of Europe