Isotopic provenancing of Pb in Mitrovica, northern Kosovo: Source identification of chronic Pb enrichment in soils, house dust and scalp hair

Abstract

20Mitrovica, northern Kosovo, is the site of some of the highest Pb concentrations reported in human 21 populations; exemplified by Pb concentrations in scalp hair of up to 130 µg g -1 and widely-publicized of Pb-22 related ill-health and mortality amongst internally displaced populations. High human Pb burdens are 23 accompanied by elevated concentrations of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in soils and house dust 24 within the city, which has a long history of mining and metallurgy. In this study enrichment-levels for PHEs 25 in soils are quantified and compared to environmental quality guidelines and a statistically-derived 26 estimation of background concentration. In addition, Pb isotopes (

Exploring heavy element distribution in soil profiles to assess the geochemical background and contamination extent in soils of a metallurgical and industrial area in Kosovo

“…Enrichment of Cd, Pb, Sb and Zn in the upper layer and progressive decline in their concentrations with depth were also found in the Kosovska Mitrovica area by Borgna et al (2009) in two soil pro les sampled down to the bottom, and by Brewer et al (2016) who investigated the distribution of Cd, Pb and Zn in soils down to a depth of 50 cm.…”

“…The study was conducted in an area of northern Kosovo around the town of Kosovska Mitrovica affected by severe and widespread soil contamination by heavy elements such as Cd, Pb, Sb and Zn, mainly due to deposition of particles emitted by the Zvecan smelter and the Trepca industrial complex, and blown by wind from the waste dumps near these plants (Borgna et al 2009;Sta lov et al 2010b;Nannoni et al 2011;Boisa et al 2013;Šajn et al 2013;Aliu et al 2016Aliu et al , 2017Brewer et al 2016;Nannoni et al 2016;Aliu et al 2017;Prathumratana et al, 2020). Soil contamination by heavy elements is very intense in a large area including the smelter and industrial site, as well as the towns of Kosovska Mitrovica and Zvecan, and extends up to about 20 km from this hotspot, north along the Ibar valley and south-east along the Sitnica valley.…”

“…This nding indicates that the industrial activities at the Trepca complex in uenced the distribution of these heavy elements in soils of the Kosovska Mitrovica area. Furthermore, the very high concentrations of Cd and Zn measured by Brewer et al (2016) in the waste piles of the Trepca industrial complex (especially waste of the Zn electrolysis plant) suggest that dispersal of these materials by wind was the main source of contamination. A marked decrease in Cd and Zn concentrations was found in topsoil of pro les SP7 and SP5, located about 2 km south-east and 5 km north-west of the Trepca industrial complex (7.5 and 10.7 mg/kg for Cd; 1317 and 846 mg/kg for Zn).…”

“…The previous studies in the Kosovska Mitrovica area mostly determined concentrations of Pb and other heavy elements in topsoil (normally up to a depth of 10 cm) to de ne their surface distribution in the entire Mitrovica region or in selected areas. Heavy element enrichment in the soil was quanti ed using reference values from outside the Kosovska Mitrovica area such as the average concentration in European topsoil, Dutch target and intervention values and CLEA (Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment) soil guideline values (Boisa et al 2013;Šajn et al 2013;Aliu et al 2016;Brewer et al 2016). However, some data is available on the top-to-bottom distribution of heavy elements in soil of this sector of northern Kosovo (Borgna et al 2009), and a few attempts have been made to assess the local geochemical background of heavy elements in soil.…”

Ion Beam, Synchrotron Radiation, and Related Techniques in Biomedicine: Elemental Profiling of Hair

“…Interestingly, it has been shown in miners that particulates from mined metals may be deposited on the hair surface [34]. The surface contains distinct regions of varying chemical composition and is a unique site with varying binding affinities for different metals [31,35].…”