Heavy metal relationships in a Pennsylvania soil

Abstract

Soils of loamy sand on weathered, sandy dolomite were cored from six holes up to 70 ft beneath a municipal waste landfill in central Pennsylvania. Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Ag were determined in exchangeable and non-exchangeable forms in total and < 15 μm soil samples. Most of these metals were bound in Mn oxides, non-exchangeable with 0.5 M CaCl 2. The Mn oxides (often X-ray amorphous) identified when crystalline as todorokite occurred chiefly as coatings on quartz grains. Somewhat higher amounts of acid leachable trace metals were found in the < 15 μm size fraction than in the total soil samples; however, trace metal/Mn ratios were similar in both. In general, the initial mild soil leaching, which dissolved chiefly Mn oxides, gave MnFeX>Co>Ni>Pb>Zn> Cu>Cd>Ag. The final leaching, which dissolved chiefly ferric oxides, gave Fe>Mn>Ni>Zn>Co> Cu>Pb>Cd>Ag. Samples taken from an unpolluted site and from the same soils affected for seven years by leachate from the refuse had similar metal contents. Soil extractable Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn could be predicted from the Mn extracted. Based in part on factor analysis of the data, Mn-rich oxides had at least tenfold higher heavy metal percentages than Fe-rich oxides (crystalline component goethite), reflecting their greater coprecipitation potential. Because of this potential and because of the generally higher solubility of Mn than Fe oxides, more heavy metals may be released from Mn-rich than from Fe-rich soils by disposal of organic-bearing wastes. However, leaching of the moisture-unsaturated soils in situ is rarely severe enough to completely dissolve both Mn and Fe oxides. Based on the Mn content, Cd, Cu, and Pb were depleted in soil moisture beneath the landfill relative to their amounts in the soil. This depletion may reflect factors including heterogeneity in metal content of the soil oxides; preferential resorption of these metals; and removal of the Cd, Cu, and Pb as organic precipitates or as inorganic precipitates such as carbonates.