The Content of Heavy Metals in the Soil Cover of the City of Lipetsk

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to assess the contamination of the soil cover of the city of Lipetsk with heavy metals (zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury) and to identify the main patterns of distribution of elements on the area of the city. Materials and methods. Soil samples were taken at the depth of 0-20 cm in 20 monitoring points on the territory of the city of Lipetsk with regard to functional zones (industrial, transport, residential) followed by laboratory analysis of the content of heavy metals. Results and discussion. As a result of the conducted study, no exceedances of the maximum permissible values of pollutants in the soil were recorded. The maximum values were obtained for zinc and lead, the highest concentrations of which are within 0.6 and 0.5 MPC, respectively. Conclusions. The results have identified the main area of heavy metal pollution, within 2-4 kilometres of the main industrial site (Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant). The content of the studied elements in the soil cover of the city of Lipetsk showed insignificant levels of contamination.