Status Quo of Soil Contamination with Inorganic and Organic Pollutants of the River Oka Floodplains (Russia)

Abstract

The contamination status of rivers and their floodplains with inorganic and organic pollutants in central Russia is poorly known. We investigated the concentrations of inorganic (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) and persistent organic pollutants (hexachlorocyclohexane, PCBs, cyclodienes, DDX and other pesticides) in floodplain soils of the Oka River catchment (Russia). The level of contamination was generally lower than in the Elbe River floodplain but in the same range as in other European river systems such as floodplains of the rivers Rhine, Dřevnice and Yachroma. Only soil samples from the periphery of the city of Ryazan (200 km southeast of Moscow) had a higher anthropogenic enrichment of Cd, Cu and Zn which was comparable to the contaminated Elbe River floodplains. These soils also had the largest concentrations of persistent organic pollutants among all samples from the Oka River catchment. Therefore, the need for large-scale remediation seems to be less urgent than in Central European river catchments and mainly restricted to some "hot spot" areas.

Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada

“…15 These various soil properties (pH, TOC, CEC, and texture) come into play in several pedogenetic processes, including the retention or absorption of metal elements, in particular via organic matter and fine particulate matter (clay sheets or fine loam) in the mineral matrix. [30][31][32] Also, metal elements (including the most mobile ones such as Cd and Zn) can be leached toward the deeper horizons in the profile, [33][34][35] especially in acidic soils. [36][37][38] The study by Remon et al, 37 for instance, shows that the solubility of several heavy metals substantially increases with pH levels under 4.5, including metals such as Pb, Ni and Cr.…”

Concentrations of Inorganic and Organic Pollutants in Forest Soils as an Archive of Anthropogenic Inputs in the State of Brandenburg, Germany

“…The principal component analyses (PCA) is particularly suitable for the characterization of pollutants in the soil with regard to their origin and historical allocation [61]. Inorganic and persistent organic pollutants in soils or sediments were also evaluated by Zimmer et al [12], Lasota and Bło ńska [62] and Morillo et al [63] with the help of the PCA and by Bonelli and Manni [64] additionally with geostatic methods in order to analyze correlation patterns, to group sites according to the degree of their overall pollution and to identify regional emission sources. Overall, close relationships between the organic and inorganic substance groups could always be observed in these studies, which suggests common origins.…”

“…This aspect can also be transferred to the pollutants stored in the soil resulting from anthropogenic factors. Thus, the regional extent and significance of anthropogenic substance inputs in the past can be examined from corresponding indicator substances in soils and in peat bogs and fluviatile or limnic sediments [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Long-term temporal trajectories to enhance restoration efficiency and sustainability on large rivers: an interdisciplinary study

“…Hydromorphological dynamics, chemical pollution and depositional processes were strongly impacted by diking along the main channel and disconnection of lateral channels since the beginning of the 19th century (Tümmers, 1999). Several studies have focused on the storage and remobilization of heavy metals (Schulz-Zunkel and Krueger, 2009;Ciszewski and Gryar, 2016;Falkowska et al, 2016;Grygar and Popelka, 2016) and/or organic pollutants in major floodplains worldwide (Lair et al, 2009;Zimmer et al, 2010;Berger and Schwarzbauer, 2016). Most studies concerned with the Rhine focused on the industrialized Lower Rhine region including the Rhine-Meuse delta (Evers et al, 1988;Middelkoop, 2000;Gocht et al, 2001;de Boer et al, 2010).…”