Proxy mapping of fly-ash pollution of soils around a coal-burning power plant: a case study in the Czech Republic

The northern part of the Czech Republic ranks among the most industrially p olluted areas of Europe due mainly to combustion of brown coal with high co ntents of pyrite and heavy metals. Fly ash produced through high-temperatur e combustion of fossil fuel is also rich in ferromagnetic minerals. These a re also included in emissions, penetrate the soil, and can be identified us ing rock-magnetic methods. Magnetic susceptibility is directly linked to a concentration of ferromagnetic minerals and is dominated by high values of magnetite. This study reports on a method of monitoring the spatial distrib ution of pollution due to airborne solid particles based on measurements of magnetic susceptibility of the soil surface near a brown-coal-burning powe r plant. Areas with high emission levels and their maximum range are determ ined. A comparison of the spatial distribution of magnetic susceptibility w ith heavy-metal concentrations in soil samples suggests that magnetic mappi ng can be beneficially used as a rapid and inexpensive method to determine contamination due to industrial activity. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. Al l rights reserved.