TOXIC METALS IN SOIL SAMPLES NEAR SOURCE OF POLLUTION WITH ECOLOGICAL RISK IN NORTHERN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Abstract

The term toxic metals means heavy and light metals. Higher toxicity of heavy metals compared to light ones was stated, while many light metals belong to physiological and oligo-elements. The term heavy metals means metals that have specific gravity > 5 g/cm3. In this work the concentrations of Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Th, U in soil samples were determined by the ICP-MS and ICP-OES method. Pb/Zn production and industrial waste disposal significantly increased the pseudo-total concentrations of heavy metals in the soil. This paper examines the contents of metal ions that are important to the environment and humans, their correlation in the analyzed samples depending on the geographical area and industrial pollution. Range of concentrations of several determined toxic elements were: lead (Pb) 78.3-6565.5 mg/kg, arsenic (As) 17.9-9647mg/kg, cadmium (Cd) 3.72-59.8 mg/kg, chromium (Cr) 10.5-170.5 mg/kg, thorium (Th) 0.89-1.89 mg/kg and uranium (U) 0.075-2.75 mg/kg. The samples were recorded on ICP – OES (ICP – OES, iCAP 6500 Duo, Thermo Scientific, UK) and ICP - MS (ICP-MS, iCAP Qc, Thermo Scientific, UK) instruments. Elemental analysis of soils could provide information about the state of the pollution of the environment and health risk for inhabitants of this area. Contamination of soils in the province of Kosovo and Metohija is caused mainly by anthropogenic activities (numerous mines, pollution as a result of post-war effects, ethnic war 1999) and geological composition of the soil.