The soils situated near the abandoned mines are highly polluted with metals due to the discharge and dispersion of mine waste into nearby air, water (surface and groundwater) and soil. Heavy metals may be transferred to humans through ingestion, inhalation or dermal absorption and can produce serious health problems affect the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, hematopoietic function and cellular metabolism. This paper investigates the presence of metallic elements from fourteen soil samples (seven sampling points) and thirty-six vegetation samples (different types of leaves, plants, roots and tree barks). The samples were collected from six different sites located in an abandoned mining area and from a point (blank sample) located 5 km in the SV direction of the quarry. The results obtained for soil samples show an overrun of the alert and / or intervention threshold for the following metals: arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc. The analytical investigation for vegetation samples indicated that concentration for calcium, magnesium, cadmium, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc were situated over the normal range in some samples. The analytical investigations were performed by optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The study�s conclusion indicates that, as result of soil acidic pH and high mobility of some metals, metallic elements migrate from soil to vegetation.

The paper presents a monitoring study of the platinum group metals concentrations in 17 samples of road dust and vegetation from areas with heavy car traffic on several European and national roads in eastern Romania. The Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru concentrations were determined by the ICP-MS technique, the reported values being below the method�s limit of determination for Ir, Pt and Ru both in soil and vegetation. As regards the Pd content, it showed a maximum of 794 mg / kg dry matter in Focsani area (DN2), an area where, according to national data published by National Road Infrastructure Management Company, the traffic average is 16,000 vehicles / 24 h. Approximately 50% of the collected vegetation samples showed a Pd transfer factor from the solid part to the vegetation higher than 0.5, thus indicating the existence of Pd toxic compounds bioavailable for vegetation. The highest concentrations of Rh in soil were recorded on a high traffic section on the E85, in Ramnicu Sarat area, where the traffic interval ranges from 8,001 to 16,000 vehicles / 24 h.

The paper presents soil quality assessment using pollution and bioavailability indexes in order to highlight possible pollution generated by a decommissioned mining area in Certej, Deva County, Romania. Metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were analyzed in pseudo-total and mobile form and the results were correlated with the content found in the vegetation collected from the same points during a previous study. The research shows a high mobility for Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively, a moderate mobility for Cd.

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Mining activities are recognized as generating adverse effects on the environmental quality. The waste resulted from ore processing activities settled on the ponds was established as a significant pollution source of the soil and groundwater in the site areas. The paper presents the spatio-temporal variation of the characteristics of groundwater in the area of a waterproofed pond, located near two other tailings ponds, unenriched, of an age of over 30 years. Groundwater quality is highlighted in an area situated in the north of the country in terms of metals content determined in several seasonal campaigns.