Lead and stable lead isotopes as tracers of soil pollution and human health risk assessment in former industrial cities of Hungary

Summary

Lead is a toxic heavy metal that has become much more prevalent in the environment since industrialization and causes considerable health problems. The current study investigated the spatial distribution and sources of lead from urban soils in former heavy industrial cities, Salgótarján and Ózd (northeastern Hungary). Even today, industrial byproduct (e.g., coal ash, smelter slag) dumps in both cities pose a real threat to the residents. Our analytical results acquired on samples from kindergartens, playgrounds, parks, roadside, etc. indicated a heterogeneous lead distribution with 8.5–1692 mg kg-1 for Salgótarján and 6.6–1674 mg kg-1 for Ózd. The enrichment of Pb results from the high variability of the potential anthropogenic contamination sources, such as iron and steel work, coal mines