Use of regulatory documents for assessing the contamination of soils with heavy metals

Abstract

The chronological review and analysis of the existing regulatory documents relevant to the assessment of soil contamination with heavy metals have been presented. Attention has been given to the incorrect use of the term “total heavy metal content” and the method of its determination in a 5 M nitric acid solution recommended by some regulatory documents. The maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs) and tentatively permissible concentrations (TPCTPCs) for the total heavy metal contents are based on the above method; therefore, the conventional methods of determining the true total contents of heavy metals overestimate the degree of contamination. To avoid confusion, it has been proposed to call the content of a heavy metal in a 5 M nitric acid solution the “pseudototal” content and to compare the experimental results with the MPC or TPCTPC values only if the methods recommended by the regulatory documents were used.