APPLICATION OF EDXRF IN A SURVEY OF CONCENTRATIONS OF LEAD, ZINC AND ARSENIC IN SOIL FROM SELECTED AREAS IN KRAKOW, POLAND

An investigation on the contamination by heavy metals of the surface l ayer of soil in the area around steelworks located in an industrial qu arter of Krakow and in several locations in the city centre was carrie d out. Particular attention was paid to soil contamination by Pb, Zn a nd As. The EDXRF technique with radioisotope excitation was applied wi th the emission-transmission method for matrix correction. Analyses of over 140 samples of soil were performed. The concentrations obtained of Pb and Zn were 15-200 and 40-650 mug g-1, respectively, whereas tha t of As was 0-30 mug g-1. The distributions of Pb contents in two regi ons of Krakow were similar whereas the distributions of Zn contents we re different. Higher concentrations of Zn were observed in the industr ial area. Such results suggest that there are different sources of con tamination of the soil: the Pb content is from transporation and Zn is mainly from industry.