Soil Contamination with Zinc, Cadmium and Lead in the City of Zabrze

Heavy metal concentrations were evaluated in topsoil (0–10 cm) in the city of Zabrze. Soil samples were taken from 71 sites distributed evenly throughout the city, in the vicinity of emitters, roads, residential areas and parks, representing various biotopes – mainly green belts, squares, fields, brownfields, lawns, forests and meadows. Average Zn concentrations ranged from 31.7 mg kg (meadows) to 2057.1 mg kg (brownfields). The highest Cd concentrations were also found in brownfields. The average Cd concentrations ranged from 0.15 up to 13.1 mg kg. The Pb concentrations ranged from 31.5 to 520 mg kg and were the lowest in meadows. The highest heavy metal pollutions were in soil samples collected in the vicinity of roads and industrial plants. Results indicate the necessity of soil pollution mapping in cities, especially for proper human risk assessment and for the prevention of further pollution spread.