Annual and seasonal variability of metals and metalloids in urban and industrial soils in Alcalá de Henares (Spain)
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Unidad de Toxicología, Universidad de Alcalá, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain)
- Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDRA), Finca el Encín, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 38.2, 28800 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain)
Contamination of urban and industrial soils with trace metals has been recognized as a major concern at local, regional and global levels due to their implication on human health. In this study, concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), tin (Sn), thallium (Tl), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) were determined in soil samples collected in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain) in order to evaluate the annual and seasonal variation in their levels. The results show that the soils of the industrial area have higher metals concentrations than the urban area. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the two principal sources of trace metal contamination, especially Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the urban soils of Alcalá can be attributed to traffic emissions, while As, Ni and Be primarily originated from industrial discharges. The seasonal variation analysis has revealed that the emission sources in the industrial area remain constant with time. However, in urban areas, both emissions and emission pathways significantly increase over time due to ongoing development. Currently, there is no hypothesis that explains the small seasonal fluctuations of trace metals in soils, since there are many factors affecting this. Owing to the fact that urban environments are becoming the human habitat, it would therefore be advisable to monitor metals and metalloids in urban soils because of the potential risks to human health. - Highlights: • Anthropogenic activities may affect the seasonal metal variation in Alcalá's soils. • Weather characteristics may also influence the seasonal metal variation in soils. • Alcalá's continual urban growth may have increased the levels of metals in its soils. • Metal variability in Alcalá's industrial soils might be dependent on their sources. • High soil metal content might make it difficult to identify temporal variation.
- OSTI ID:
- 22447564
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research, Vol. 136; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0013-9351
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Pb, Cd, As, and Se concentrations in livers of dead wild birds from the Ebro Delta, Spain
Main components of PM10 in an area influenced by a cement plant in Catalonia, Spain: Seasonal and daily variations