Contamination of heavy metals and isotopic tracing of Pb in surface and profile soils in a polluted farmland from a typical karst area in southern China

Jing Kong; Qingjun Guo; Rongfei Wei; Harald Strauss; Guangxu Zhu; Siliang Li; Zhaoliang Song; Tongbin Chen; Bo Song; Ting Zhou; Guodi Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.034

Contamination of heavy metals and isotopic tracing of Pb in surface and profile soils in a polluted farmland from a typical karst area in southern China

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Oct 1:637-638:1035-1045. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.034. Epub 2018 May 13.

Authors

Jing Kong¹, Qingjun Guo², Rongfei Wei¹, Harald Strauss³, Guangxu Zhu⁴, Siliang Li⁵, Zhaoliang Song⁵, Tongbin Chen⁶, Bo Song⁷, Ting Zhou⁸, Guodi Zheng⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 24, 48149 Münster, Germany.
⁴ College of Biology and Environment Engineering, Guiyang University, Guiyang 550005, China.
⁵ Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
⁶ Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁷ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541006, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China.

PMID: 29801199
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.034

Abstract

Farmland top soils and soil profiles situated in the karst area of Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, reveal different degrees of heavy metal pollution, both in respect to the lateral as well as the vertical dimension. Pb isotope ratios clearly identify that heavy metal contributions to the soil represent the legacy of former Pb-Zn mining and smelting in the area. Depending upon soil properties, differences in the intensity of the vertical penetration of heavy metal pollution are discernible. Top soil coverage by local farmers provides little remediation. Consequently, hazardous conditions for the regional ecology, for agricultural usage and ultimately for human health remain in place. Based on chemical and isotopic results obtained, more effective remediation strategies need to be developed.

Keywords: Farmland; Heavy metal pollution; Karst region; Pb isotopes.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring*
Farms
Humans
Lead / analysis*
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Soil / chemistry
Soil Pollutants / analysis*

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Lead