Supervisors info:
Κελεπερτζής Ευστράτιος, Ε.ΔΙ.Π, Τμήμα Γεωλογίας και Γεωπεριβάλλοντος, Σχολή Θετικών Επιστημών
Summary:
The present work is referred to geochemical study in urban and suburban areas of Volos, central Greece. The major objective of this geochemical research is the determination and interpretation of major elements concentrations (Ca, Fe, Al) and trace elements concentrations (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cd, As and Sb), as well as the source apportionment, whenever possible, to natural and anthropogenic factors. For that purpose, the topsoil was collected (0 - 10 cm) from 41 sampling sites, since it is the major recipient of urban contamination, after operating as a collector and reservoir of toxic or non-toxic substances. The area surrounding one steel factory (N=8), a cement plant (N=12), an industrial area (N=10) and the city core (N=15) were considered as potential hot spots of metal(loid) contamination. This study focuses on identifying the concentrations of the following metal(loid): Pb (19 – 662 ppm), Zn (72 – 1651 ppm), Cu (15 – 206 ppm), Cr (91 – 401 ppm), As (7 – 1853 ppm), Sb (1 – 31 ppm), Ni (38 – 169 ppm), Mn (391 – 2247 ppm), Cd (0,1 – 3 ppm), Fe (11257 – 57584 ppm), Ca (24367 – 223102 ppm) και Al (25393 – 68284 ppm). Significant anthropogenic enrichments of Cd (median EF ~ 7), Pb (median EF ~ 15) and Zn (median EF ~ 8) in relation to local baseline were identified for the soil around the steel factory located at Velestino area. The high contents of As (median EF ~ 57) and Sb (median EF ~ 3) in the soil around the cement plant are attributed to natural sources of contamination associated with adjacent mineralization. The soil samples in the city core exhibited moderate enrichments with respect to typical tracers (Pb median EF ~ 5 and Zn median EF ~ 3) of anthropogenic contamination in urban areas. The soils within the industrial area of Volos are characterized by low enrichments factors in relation to the most metal(loid) with the exception to the moderate enrichment of Cd (median EF ~3). The research outcome contributes to the evaluation of quality characteristics of soils in Volos and demonstrate that the geochemical distribution of major and trace elements, as well as their concentrations are directly associated with the geology – mineralization of this area.
Keywords:
urban soil, industrial soil, potentially toxic elements, environmental contamination, steel plant, cement plant
