Lead Concentration in Soil and Trees From an Urban Area

Abstract

ISEE-896 Objective: To measure the lead levels in soil and trees around an industrial waste storage located in a urban zone in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. Material and Methods: Samples of soil and trees were collected around an industrial storage in the aim to determine the levels of lead concentration. The storage in located inside an urban area, for several years it was utilized to keep wastes produced during the Bi elimination from Pb, where lead is produced as waste. Samples were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence to determine the concentration of lead. Results: Soil samples have lead levels ranging from 354 to 76418 μg/g, the average of lead concentration in the soil samples is 17982 ± 26737 μg/g; those values are above 400 μg/g considered as limit for urban soils by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The samples collected from the trees have lead concentrations ranging from 224 to 5717 μg/g, while the average value is 1878 ± 2264 μg/g. Conclusions: Lead levels found in soil and trees around the industrial storage suggest a contamination risk, mainly through air dispersion; for all the people that live around this facility, this risk is extended beyond the vicinity to the storage through the waste transportation.