HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN AND AROUND HOUSEHOLDS NEAR A SECONDARY LEAD SMELTER

摘要

Housedusts and garden soils were sampled in 14 houses in the vicintiy of a seocndary Pb smelter and analysed for concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As, and Hg, Sixty-one topsoil samples were also taken from a 2 km~2 grid covering the smelter grounds and surrounding residential areas and analysed for concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu. Contour maps generated from the grid data indicate signficant contamination in the area (maximum Pb concentration 58 500 μg g~-1), particularly downwind of the smelter grounds. A geometric mean Pb concentration of 2225 μg g~-1 was recorded in garden soil and similarly elevated levels were recorded for Zn, Cd, As and Sb.