TRACE-ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS AND STABLE LEAD ISOTOPES IN SOILS AS TRACERS OF LEAD POLLUTION IN GRAFT-DERIJP, THE NETHERLANDS

Graft-De Rijp is a former village of whalers, situated twenty-five kil ometres north of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since the foundation of D e Rijp in 1612 a mixture of sludge, manure and town refuse (containing Pb-based household artefacts and Pb-based building materials) was use d to raise and featilise the land. Gasworks, coal storehouses, printin g works and tanneries were started in the industrial area (after 1860) . Surface soils in the ''old'' town centre of De Rijp are highly conta minated with Pb and, to a lesser extent, with Zn, Cu and As. Stable Pb isotopes combined with statistical analysis of the chemical dataset p rovided a tool whereby the sources of contaminant Pb, and related heav y metals were identified. Three major sources of Pb contamination coul d be distinguished: (1) remnants of the ''old'' town (building materia ls such as Pb sheets, glazed roof tiles and paint), (2) coal ashes and (3) alkyl-leaded petrol. In addition, high Zn, Cu and As are strongly related to Pb pollution, which is predominantly found in the topsoil (0-0.5 m) of the ''old'' town centre of Graft-De Rijp.