Lead Determination and Heterogeneity Analysis in Soil from a Former Firing Range
Abstract
Public places can have an unknown past of pollutants deposition. The exposition to such contaminants can create environmental and health issues. The characterization of a former firing range in Athens, Greece will allow its monitoring and encourage its remediation. This study is focused on Pb contamination in the site due to its presence in ammunition. A dense sampling design with 91 location (10 m apart) was used to determine the spatial distribution of the element in the surface soil of the study area. Duplicates samples were also collected one meter apart from 8 random locations to estimate the heterogeneity of the site. Elemental concentrations were measured using a portable XRF device after simple sample homogenization in the field. Robust Analysis of Variance showed that the contributions to the total variance were 11% from sampling, 1% analytical, and 88% geochemical; reflecting the suitability of the technique. Moreover, the extended random uncertainty relative to the mean concentration was 91.5%; confirming the high heterogeneity of the site. Statistical analysis defined a very high contamination in the area yielding to suggest the need for more in-depth analysis of other contaminants and possible health risks.
- Publication:
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IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2017
- DOI:
- 10.1088/1755-1315/78/1/012008
- Bibcode:
- 2017E&ES...78a2008U