SHORT COMMUNICATION
Lanthanides in Soils of Historical Mining Sites
in Poland
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1
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Institute of Soil Science and Environmental Protection, Wrocław, Poland
2
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Department of Soil Science and Remote Sensing of Soils, Poznań, Poland
3
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Institute of Geology, Poznań, Poland
Submission date: 2017-11-20
Final revision date: 2018-02-17
Acceptance date: 2018-02-22
Online publication date: 2018-11-14
Publication date: 2019-01-28
Corresponding author
Anna Karczewska
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Institute of Soil Science and Environmental Protection 50-357 Wrocław, ul. Grunwaldzka 53, ul. Grunwaldzka 53, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(3):1517-1522
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ABSTRACT
Lanthanides are attracting increasing interest due to their technological importance and potential
ecotoxicity. Knowledge of lanthanides in Polish soils is very poor, and a question arises whether
the soils of former metal ore mining sites are enriched by these elements. Therefore, concentrations of
six crucial lanthanides – La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd – were determined in 92 soil samples collected from
6 historical mining sites in the Sudetes mountain range in southwestern Poland. They correlated strongly
with each other, but no significant correlations were found with other metals, either in all samples
or within the sites, except for Srebrna Góra, where lanthanides correlated strongly with Ba and Mn.
No cases of considerable enrichment in lanthanides were identified in the sites examined, despite very
high concentrations of other metals. Median concentrations of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd were 25.1,
52.4, 5.8, 21.9, 4.3, and 4.0 mg∙kg-1, and did not differ much from the median values for European soils.
Maximum concentrations reported from Srebrna Góra were 2,9-6,8-fold higher than global background
determined for Earth crust. However, these concentrations should still be considered as low, posing no
environmental risk.