METAL CONTAMINATION OF SOILS AND DUSTS IN SEOUL METROPOLITAN CITY, KOREA

To investigate the dispersion patterns and the characteristics of heav y metal contamination due to urbanisation and industrialisation, soils and dusts collected from the Seoul area were analysed for Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd. The metal concentrations in most soils acid dusts are higher t han the world averages. The pollution index ((Sigma Metal concentratio ns in soils/Permissible level for metal)divided by(Number of metals)) of soils and dusts is > 1 in most of the Seoul area, a result that con curs with the industrialisation and urbanisation index of the Seoul ar ea. The soils are contaminated with Cu, Zn, Cd and particularly Pb. Th is suggests that the contamination of the soils in the Seoul area are mainly caused by vehicular emissions. The pollution index of soil is t he highest in the Kuro area where Cu and Zn contamination in soils are due to the indigenous brass and bronze factories. From the discrimina nt analysis, the Seoul area may be partitioned into control, traffic a nd industrialized areas by the metal concentrations in the order of Zn > Cu > Pb.