Abstract
Soils in the vicinity of roads are recipients of contaminants from traffic emissions. In order to obtain a better understanding of the impacts of traffic on soils, a total of 225 surface soil samples were collected from an urban park (Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland) in a grid system. Metal (Pb, Cu and Zn) concentrations were determined using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer. Strong spatial variations for the concentrations of Pb, Cu and Zn were observed. The spatial distribution maps created using geographical information system techniques revealed elevated metal concentrations close to the main traffic route in the park. The relationships between the accumulation of Pb, Cu and Zn in the roadside soils and the distance from the road were well fitted with an exponential model. Elevated metal concentrations from traffic pollution extended to a distance of approximately 40 m from the roadside. The results of this study provide useful information for the management of urban parks particularly in relation to policies aimed at reducing the impact of traffic related pollution on soils.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajmone-Marsan, F., Biasioli, M., Kralj, T., Grcman, H., Davidson, C. M., Hursthouse, A. S., et al. (2008). Metals in particle-size fractions of the soils of five European cities. Environmental Pollution, 152, 73–81.
Alloway, B. J. (1995). Heavy metals in soils. UK: Blackie Academic and Professional.
Blom, G. (1958). Statistical estimates and transformed beta variables (p. 176). New York: Wiley.
Carr, R., Zhang, C., Moles, N., & Harder, M. (2008). Identification and mapping of heavy metal pollution in soils of a sports ground in Galway City, Ireland, using a portable XRF analyser and GIS. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 30(1), 45–52.
Cattle, J. A., McBratney, A. B., & Minasny, B. (2002). Kriging method evaluation for assessing the spatial distribution of urban soil lead contamination. Journal of Environmental Quality, 31(5), 1576–1588.
Chen, X., Xia, X., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, P. (2010). Heavy metal concentrations in roadside soils and correlation with urban traffic in Beijing, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 181, 640–646.
Cheng, S. (2003). Heavy metal pollution in China: Origin, pattern and control. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 10, 192–198.
Chow, T. J. (1970). Lead accumulation in roadside soil and grass. Nature (London), 225, 295–296.
Christoforidis, A., & Stamatis, N. (2009). Heavy metal contamination in street dust and roadside soil along the major national road in Kavala’s region, Greece. Geoderma, 151, 257–263.
Clark, S., Menrath, W., Chen, M., Roda, S., & Succop, P. (1999). Use of a field portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer to determine the concentration of lead and other metals in soil samples. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 6(1), 27–32.
Dao, L., Morrison, L., Kiely, G., & Zhang, C. (2012b). Spatial distribution of potentially bioavailable metals in surface soils of a contaminated sports ground in Galway, Ireland. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1–12.
Dao, L., Morrison, L., & Zhang, C. (2010). Spatial variation of urban soil geochemistry in a roadside sports ground in Galway, Ireland. Science of the Total Environment, 408, 1076–1084.
Dao, L., Morrison, L., & Zhang, C. (2012a). Bonfires as a potential source of metal pollutants in urban soils, Galway, Ireland. Applied Geochemistry, 27, 930–935.
Facchinelli, A., Sacchi, E., & Mallen, L. (2001). Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify heavy metal sources in soils. Environmental Pollution, 114, 313–324.
Fay, D., Mcgrath, D., Zhang, C., Carrigg, C., Flaherty, V. O., Kramers, G., Carton, O. T., Grennan, E. (2007). EPA report: Toward a national soil database (2001-CD/S2-M2).
Guney, M., Onay, T., & Copty, N. (2010). Impact of overland traffic on heavy metal levels in highway dust and soils of Istanbul, Turkey. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 164, 101–110.
Helsel, D. R. (1987). Advantages of nonparametric procedures for analysis of water quality data. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 32, 179–190.
Isaaks, E. H., & Srivastava, R. M. (1989). An introduction to applied geostatistics. New York, Oxford: Oxford Univ Press.
Jaradat, Q. M., & Momani, K. A. (1999). Contamination of roadside soil, plants, and air with heavy metals in Jordan. A comparative study. Turkish Journal of Chemistry, 23, 209–220.
Jung, K., Stelzenmüller, V., & Zauke, G.-P. (2006). Spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations and biomass indices in Cerastodermaedule Linnaeus (1758) from the German Wadden Sea: An integrated biomonitoring approach. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 338(1), 81–95.
Kasassi, A., Rakimbei, P., Karagiannidis, A., Zabaniotou, A., Tsiouvaras, K., Nastis, A., et al. (2008). Soil contamination by heavy metals: Measurements from a closed unlined landfill. Bioresource Technology, 99, 8578–8584.
Lagerwerff, J. V., & Specht, A. W. (1970). Contamination of roadside soil and vegetation with Cadmium, Nickel, Lead and Zinc. Environmental Science & Technology, 4, 583–586.
Lee, C. S.-l, Li, X., Shi, W., Cheung, S. C.-n., & Thornton, I. (2006). Metal contamination in urban, suburban, and country park soils of Hong Kong: A study based on GIS and multivariate statistics. Science of the Total Environment, 356, 45–61.
Li, X., & Huang, C. (2007). Environment impact of heavy metals on urban soil in the vicinity of industrial area of Baoji city, P.R. China. Environmental Geology, 52, 1631–1637.
Li, X., Poon, C-s., & Liu, P. S. (2001). Heavy metal contamination of urban soils and street dusts in Hong Kong. Applied Geochemistry, 16, 1361–1368.
Lin, C–. C., Chen, S.-J., Huang, K.-L., Hwang, W.-I., Chang-Chien, G.-P., & Lin, W.-Y. (2005). Characteristics of metals in nano/ultrafine/fine/coarse particles collected beside a heavily trafficked road. Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 8113–8122.
Liu, X., Wu, J., & Xu, J. (2006). Characterizing the risk assessment of heavy metals and sampling uncertainty analysis in paddy field by geostatistics and GIS. Environmental Pollution, 141(2), 257–264.
Lough, G. C., Schauer, J. J., Park, J.-S., Shafer, M. M., DeMinter, J. T., & Weinstein, J. P. (2004). Emissions of metals associated with motor vehicle roadways. Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 826–836.
Maas, S., Scheifler, R., Benslama, M., Crini, N., Lucot, E., Brahmia, Z., et al. (2010). Spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations in urban, suburban and agricultural soils in a Mediterranean city of Algeria. Environmental Pollution, 158(6), 2294–2301.
Mackey, E. A., Christopher, S. J., Lindstrom, R. M., Long, S. E., Marlow, A. F., Murphy, K. E. et al. (2010). Certification of three NIST renewal soil standard reference materials for element content: SRM 2709a San Joaquin Soil, SRM 2710a Montana Soil I, and SRM 2711a Montana Soil II, NIST Special Publication 260-172. U.S. Department of Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Manta, D. S., Angelone, M., Bellanca, A., Neri, R., & Sprovieri, M. (2002). Heavy metals in urban soils: A case study from the city of Palermo (Sicily), Italy. The Science of the Total Environment, 300, 229–243.
McGrath, D., Zhang, C., & Carton, O. T. (2004). Geostatistical analyses and hazard assessment on soil lead in Silvermines area, Ireland. Environmental Pollution, 127, 239–248.
Motto, H. L., Daines, R. H., Chilko, D. M., & Motto, C. K. (1970). Lead in soils and plants: Its relationship to traffic volume and proximity to highway. Environmental Science and Technology, 4, 231–237.
Nyarko, B. J. B., Adomako, D., Serfor-Armah, Y., Dampare, S. B., Adotey, D., & Akaho, E. H. K. (2006). Biomonitoring of atmospheric trace element deposition around an industrial town in Ghana. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 75, 954–958.
OPW (Office of Public Works), (2009). The phoenix park conservation management plan. Dublin: Consultation Draft.
Pagotto, C., Rémy, N., Legret, M., & Le Cloirec, P. (2001). Heavy metal pollution of road dust and roadside soil near a major rural highway. Environmental Technology, 22(3), 307–319.
Quarles, H. D., Hanwalt, R. B., & Odum, W. E. (1974). Lead in small mammals, plants and soil at varying distances from a highway. Journal of Applied Ecology, 11, 937–949.
Radu, T., & Diamond, D. (2009). Comparison of soil pollution concentrations determined using AAS and portable XRF techniques. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 171, 1168–1171.
Raymond, A. W., & Felix, E. O. (2011). Heavy metals in contaminated soils: A review of sources, chemistry, risks and best available strategies for remediation. International Scholarly Research Network. ISRN Ecology, 402647, 20.
Schulin, R., Curchod, F., Mondeshka, M., Daskalova, A., & Keller, A. (2007). Heavy metal contamination along a soil transect in the vicinity of the iron smelter of Kremikovtzi (Bulgaria). Geoderma, 140, 52–61.
Sharma, S., & Prasad, F. M. (2009). Accumulation of lead and cadmium in soil and vegetable crops along major highways in Agra (India). E-Journal of Chemistry, 7, 1174–1183.
Sutherland, R. A., & Tolasan, C. A. (2001). Variation in total and extractable elements with distance from roads in an urban watershed, Honolulu, Hawaii. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 127(315–338), 2001.
TDC Environmental (2004). Copper sources in urban runoff and shoreline activities. http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/emon/surfwtr/copper1104.pdf. Last visited 12/04/2012.
Tiwari, C., & Rushton, G. (2010). A spatial analysis system for integrating data, methods and models on environmental risks and health outcomes. Transactions in GIS, 14, 177–195.
United Nations (2002). Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP/GC. 22/INF/23. December 10, 2002.
VROM, Circular on target values and intervention values for soil remediation (2000). The Hague, the Netherlands: The ministry of housing, spatial planning and environment, Department of Soil Protection (VROM).
Wang, M. E., Bai, Y. Y., Chen, W. P., Markert, B., Peng, C., & Ouyang, Z. Y. (2012). A GIS technology based potential eco-risk assessment of metals in urban soils in Beijing, China. Environmental Pollution, 161, 235–242.
Wang, X. S., Qin, Y., & Sang, S. X. (2005). Accumulation and sources of heavy metals in urban topsoils: A case study from the city of Xuzhou, China. Environmental Geology, 48, 101–107.
Ward, N., Brooks, R. R., & Roberts, E. (1977). Heavy metal pollution from automobile emissions and its effects on roadside soils and pasture species in New Zealand. Environmental Science and Technology, 11, 917–921.
Wu, S., Zhou, S., & Li, X. (2011). Determining the anthropogenic contribution of heavy metal accumulations around a typical industrial town: Xushe, China. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 110, 92–97.
Zehetner, F., Rosenfellner, U., Mentler, A., & Gerzabek, M. (2009). Distribution of road salt residues, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across a highway-forest interface. Water, Air, and Soil pollution, 198, 125–132.
Zhang, C., Luo, L., Xu, W., & Ledwith, V. (2008). Use of local Moran’s I and GIS to identify pollution hotspots of Pb in urban soils of Galway, Ireland. Science of the Total Environment, 398, 212–221.
Zibret, G., & Sajn, R. (2008). Modelling of atmospheric dispersion of heavy metals in the Celje area, Slovenia. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 97, 29–41.
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) STRIVE Doctoral Scholarship Scheme 2007 (Project No.: 2007-PhD-S-3). The authors wish to thank Ms N. Ta and Nessa Golden for fieldwork assistance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dao, L., Morrison, L., Zhang, H. et al. Influences of traffic on Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations in roadside soils of an urban park in Dublin, Ireland. Environ Geochem Health 36, 333–343 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-013-9553-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-013-9553-8