Abstract
Public recreation areas in cities may be constructed on land which has been contaminated by various processes over the history of urbanisation. Charles Veryard and Smith’s Lake Reserves are adjacent parklands in Perth, Western Australia with a history of horticulture, waste disposal and other potential sources of contamination. Surface soil and soil profiles in the Reserves were sampled systematically and analysed for multiple major and trace elements. Spatial analysis was performed using interpolation and Local Moran’s I to define geochemical zones which were confirmed by means comparison and principal components analyses. The degree of contamination of surface soil in the Reserves with As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn was low. Greater concentrations of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn were present at depth in some soil profiles, probably related to historical waste disposal in the Reserves. The results show distinct advantages to using spatial statistics at the site investigation scale, and for measuring multiple elements not just potential contaminants.
Highlights
A number of studies have documented the potential for contaminant additions to soils from a range of urban activities
Much greater variability was observed for calcium (Ca, maximum/minimum ≈ 108); cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), magnesium
Except for zinc, which exceeded the interim Ecological Investigation Level (EIL; National Environment Protection Council, 1999) in three samples, no other soil thresholds were exceeded by any element (Table 2)
Summary
A number of studies have documented the potential for contaminant additions to soils from a range of urban activities. The disposal of metalliferous and other wastes is known to cause soil contamination with trace elements [4]. Excavation of peaty and/or sulfidic subsoils is known to result in contamination of soils with acidity and metals [5,6]. Public facilities such as vehicle and storage depots and electrical substations are potential contaminant sources known to have caused soil pollution [7,8]. Building construction is a likely source of soil, sediment, and water contamination [9]
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