Trace Element Contents in Topsoil Located Near Steel Plant in Krakow-Nowa Huta

The environmental pollution with copper and zinc along the communication routes in Wrocław, Poland

“…The accumulation indices (Wn) for copper are higher than those for zinc in the soil samples. In soils located near the steelworks in Nowa Huta, the values of Wn for zinc ranged from 4.8 to 2.5 depending on the distance between the measurement point and the steelworks [5]. The zinc accumulation index in soils adjacent to a petrol station in Cracow ranged from 1.70 to 14.11, whereas for copper it ranged from 2.05 to 16.53.…”

“…Their content depends on intensity of traffic on the road, and it typically decreases along the increase _________________________ of the distance from the edge of the road [1][2][3][4]. The falling of the metalliferous dust depends also on the local meteorological conditions such as the wind direction and the aerodynamic surface roughness (the shape of the surface, occurrence of natural barriers such as afforestation of the area) [5]. Wet and dry deposition fosters the accumulation of metals in the soils and their inclusion in the food chain, creating a hazard for all trophic levels.…”

“…In the soils with neutral and alkaline pH, the movement of metals to the deeper layers of the soil profile is limited. pH < 7 of the soil fosters the movement of metals and their phytoassimilation [5][6][7][8]. A local metalliferous dust contamination may originate from industrial plants and heating devices (boilers, incinerators) [5].…”

The impact of the mountain barrier on the spread of heavy metal pollution on the example of Gorce Mountains, Southern Poland

“…This plant and associated companies have contributed to the overall emission of gasses and dust since the 1950s. This has been confirmed by a series of studies of soils conducted in and around Krakow (Bokwa, 2008;Mundała et al, 2013). Nowadays, the processes that can have the greatest impact on the emission from the Krakow plants are coking, hot rolling, and foundry (mainly electric arc furnace casting) (Da Silva et al, 2008).…”