THE RATIO BETWEEN HEAVY-METAL CONTENTS IN SOIL AND PARENT ROCK AS A CRITERION FOR EVALUATING SOIL CONTAMINATION

A new method is proposed for evaluating the contamination of soils by heavy metals that involves the determination of the background values of total heavy metals in every controlled area on the basis of their c ontents in the parent rock of this area and the standardized values of accumulation-dispersion coefficients. From the statistical analysis o f variations in the profile distribution of total Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, and Ni, the standard values of heavy metal contents were obtained for nonpolluted chernozems and gray forest soils.