Eh. Rybicka et al., CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL FORMS AND MOBILIZATION OF COPPER AND LEAD IN SOILS FROM A CU-SMELTING AREA IN POLAND, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A: Environmental science and engineering, 29(3), 1994, pp. 531-546
Sequential chemical extraction, scanning electron microscopy/energy di
spersive microanalysis (SEM/EDX) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used
to determine the chemical and mineralogical forms of copper and lead
in a soil sample containing 7400 and 1960 mg/kg of these metals respec
tively, taken from the vicinity of a copper smelter at Legnica in sout
hern Poland. Sequential extraction suggests that a high proportion of
copper and lead (about 70 and 60% respectively) could be mobilized fro
m the exchangeable and carbonatic fractions of the soil. SEM/EDX analy
sis of soil particle size fractions indicates however, that the Cu and
Pb are mainly associated with sulphides and/or sulphates but to a min
or extent with carbonates and on exchange sites. The SEM micrographs s
uggest that the heavy metals occur in three major forms, namely single
grains, aggregates, and thin patches on or in silicate and carbonate
minerals.