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The chemistry and parent material of urban soils in Bristol (UK): implications for contaminated land assessment

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Abstract

An earlier survey of topsoil from parks and allotment in the city of Bristol (UK) revealed the presence of relatively high levels of “pseudo-total” Cd, As, Cu, Pb and Zn, with Cd and As exceeding present UK soil guidelines. This follow-up work aimed at (1) estimating geochemical thresholds for these elements based on “near-total” soil, bedrock and sediment heavy metals and (2) determining the genetic relationship between soil and bedrock using rare earth elements (REEs or lanthanides) as tracers. “Near-total” concentration of 34 elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Ti, V, Zn, Y and the rare earth elements Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sm, Tb, Yb) were obtained by ICP-MS and ICP-OES. The results show that the soil composition is largely controlled by the soil parent material, though extreme outliers are indicative of contamination at a few sites of parkland and allotments. Cumulative frequency plots show the presence of different data sets for which separate “background” values should be determined. The REE data provide evidence that weathering of the underlying sandstone was a determinant factor leading to the relatively high heavy metal enrichment found in soil samples and sediments. Reference to UK soil guidelines to decide on possible remediation measures could be very misleading due to the natural high background levels of some elements in the underlying bedrock. Before defining land as “contaminated”, a thorough geochemical investigation is required at local scale in order to produce a more realistic and correct environmental assessment.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Emma Waters for map production, and Shirong Tang and Carmen Lobo for their assistance with the analytical work. Stephen Clamping (allotments manager at Bristol City Council), the parks managers and allotment holders are gratefully acknowledged for allowing access to allotments and parks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, UWE Bristol, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK

    L. Giusti

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  1. L. Giusti
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Correspondence to L. Giusti.

Electronic supplementary material

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10653_2012_9468_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Online Resource 1 Simplified bedrock geological map of the Bristol district, showing the rock sampling locations. BC = Blaise Castle; LW = Lee Woods; CB = Clifton Bridge; AC = Aston Court Estate; SM = Snuff Mills; TH = Troopers Hill; H = Hanham. (TIFF 5223 kb)

Online Resource 2 (DOC 35 kb)

Online Resource 3 (DOC 34 kb)

10653_2012_9468_MOESM4_ESM.doc

Online Resource 4 Box-plots of near-total composition of soil (n = 84), limestone (n = 6), sandstone (n = 7), and sediments (n = 15) from the Bristol district, showing the median, maximum, minimum, 25 and 75 percentiles of Al2O3, CaO, Fe2O3, K2O, MgO, Na2O, Ti, Ba, P, Mn, V, Li, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Y. The number of samples is shown in brackets on the X axis. Parks and green areas: AC = Ashton Court; BC = Blaise Castle Estate; DD = Durdham Downs; RC = Ridgeway and Coombe Brook Valley; TH = Troopers Hill. Allotment sites: AD = Atwood Drive; PK = Packers; WF = Whitefield; TF = The Farm. (DOC 117 kb)

Online Resource 5 (DOC 331 kb)

10653_2012_9468_MOESM6_ESM.doc

Online Resource 6 Median (±sd) of (a) LREE and (b) HREE concentration in soils, rocks and sediments from Bristol. Parks and green areas: AC = Ashton Court; BC = Blaise Castle Estate; DD = Durdham Downs; TH = Troopers Hill; RC = Ridgeway and Coombe Brook Valley. Allotment sites: PK = Packers; AD = Atwood Drive; WF = Whitefield; TF = The Farm. Limestone = LS; Sandstone = SS; Sediments = SSS. (DOC 71 kb)

10653_2012_9468_MOESM7_ESM.doc

Online Resource 7 Scatter-plot of correlation of Al2O3 vs. Li for (a) allotments and parks shown separately, (b) all 84 samples, (c) soils on sandstone bedrock, (d) soils on limestone bedrock (Ashton Court, Blaise Castle, Durdham Downs), and (e) bedrock (6 limestone and 8 sandstone samples). The empty square shows a sandstone outlier from Troopers Hill. (DOC 181 kb)

10653_2012_9468_MOESM8_ESM.doc

Online Resource 8 Soil/bedrock enrichment ratios for (a) Ashton Court, (b) Blaise Castle, (c) Troopers Hill and (d) Atwood Drive allotments. Figures (e) and (f) show the soil/bedrock enrichment ratios for Ashton Court and Blaise Castle assuming that sandstone was the parent material of the soils in these areas. (DOC 117 kb)

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Giusti, L. The chemistry and parent material of urban soils in Bristol (UK): implications for contaminated land assessment. Environ Geochem Health 35, 53–67 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-012-9468-9

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