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Chemical assessment and fractionation of some heavy metals and arsenic in agricultural soils of the mining affected Drama plain, Macedonia, northern Greece

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Abstract

The concentration and chemical fractionation of some heavy metals (Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd) and As in agricultural soils of the western Drama plain (northern Greece) were determined using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. Drama plain constitutes the recipient of the effluents from Xiropotamos stream, which passes through the abandoned “25 km Mn-mine” place. Results showed that soils were found to have elevated concentrations of potentially harmful elements which are mainly associated with Mn mineralization. Peak total concentrations (in mg kg−1) of 130,013 for Mn, 1996 for Pb, 2140 for Zn, 147 for Cu, 28 for Cd, and 1077 for As were found in sampling points close and along both sides of the Xiropotamos stream, as a result of downstream transfer and dispersion of Mn mine wastes via flooding episodes. Contaminated sites are important sources of pollution and may pose significant environmental hazards for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The geochemical influence of the mine wastes as a source of soil pollution is substantially reduced in sites 200 m remote of the Xiropotamos stream course. The chemical partitioning patterns indicated that the potential for Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, and As remobilization and bioavailability is low, as most of these elements were present in the residual and/or the more stable Mn- and Fe-hydroxide fractions. The partitioning in significant percent (14–25 %) of Cd with the weakly bound exchangeable/carbonate fraction indicated that this metal could be highly mobile as well as bioavailable in the studied contaminated soils and this could be concern to human health.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.

We would like also to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions.

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  1. Department of Mineralogy-Petrology-Economic Geology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece

    E. Sofianska & K. Michailidis

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Sofianska, E., Michailidis, K. Chemical assessment and fractionation of some heavy metals and arsenic in agricultural soils of the mining affected Drama plain, Macedonia, northern Greece. Environ Monit Assess 187, 101 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4335-7

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