Legacy of anthropogenic activity recorded in sediments by microtechnofossils and chemical markers

This overview presents comparison of common microtechnofossils with other geochemical markers that may have the great potential to be the anthropogenic signatures for recent and future sediment strata. The novel man-made products encompass spherical and spheroidal fly-ash particulates, microplastics, synthetic crystals, and more recently examined glass microspheres. Due to their low specific gravity and small size varying from a tiny fraction of millimeter to approximately 5 mm, microtechnofossils may be transported over a long distance from their primary or secondary sources by water and wind. Of these technogenic materials, among the most resistant to physical and chemical degradation are glass microbeads, and additionally synthetic crystals and some types of fly-ash particulates derived mostly from coal/oil combustion, metal ore smelting operations and cement/lime manufacturing. Nonetheless, synthetic glass microspheres have found exponentially growing applications as reflective ingredients in traffic-related paints and building facades, as well as in a variety of applications mostly as low-density fillers of many materials. In contrast to anthropogenic fly-ash and microplastic particles, glass microspheres resemble in many respects common detrital quartz grains. Moreover, like quartz, they are resistant to depositional and diagenetic processes, which is a prerequisite for future geologic archives preserving anthropogenic signals. These and other characteristics make glass microspheres a more widely used product in various fields thus assigning them to a new emerging and globally spreading chronostratigraphic marker of human-impacted sediments.

The use of rare earth element profiles as a proxy for a fractionation source and mine-waste provenance

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been determined in acid mine drainage samples from the Wiśniówka area, south-central Poland. Two benchmark acid pit ponds, i.e., Podwiśniówka (PwIIb) and Wiśniówka Duża (WD), have shown diverse contents of sulfates, phosphates, REEs and metal(loid)s. Moreover, these ponds exhibit different NASC-normalized REE concentration patterns: (i) a positive middle REE anomaly in PwIIb and (ii) a positive heavy REE anomaly in WD, regardless of sampling time. This MREE anomaly has also been highlighted in a small tailings pile pool showing high contents of metal(loid)s, including As (3.86 g/L) and REEs (90.1 mg/L). In contrast, the light REE (LaEu)-rich profiles are recorded in all Upper Cambrian rock series of the study area. However, the Pw geologic section is distinctly enriched in pyrite, goethite/hematite and carbonaceous clayey-silty shales compared to its WD counterpart that contains a lesser amount of these components, but many more quartzite/sandstone beds. The Pw mineral-lithologic pattern favors selective partitioning of heavy REEs to abundant Fe- and Al-oxyhydroxides and organic matter. Both very short solute transport from sheer rock faces to pit ponds and a low pH of acid waters (mean of 2.3 to 3.0) indicate that scavenging/adsorption and mineral co-precipitation of REEs in a water column may be negligible. This inference is also backed up by overlapping REE profiles at different depths of acid pit ponds. Taken together, this implies that preferential fractionation of REEs takes place primarily during on-site weathering of pyrite and REE-bearing minerals in different rock media thus leading to changes in the Pw- and WD shale-normalized REE concentration patterns at source. The characteristic Pw roof-shaped (convex-up) profile in water samples has been used as a proxy for tracing the most detrimental Podwiśniówka As-bearing mine-waste that were scattered within the mining area a couple of years ago.

Abundance and fate of glass microspheres in river sediments and roadside soils: Lessons from the Świętokrzyskie region case study (south-central Poland)

Traffic-related glass microspheres in fluvial and roadside soil settings were used as an indicator for the occurrence and extent of road dust as a source of emissions. Microspheres were found in sediments of two rivers, at a distance of approximately 25 km of the city of Kielce (south-central Poland). Their highest contents in sediments were recorded near street stormwater drains into the Silnica River flowing through the city. The study also showed no influence of local bridges on the spatial distribution of glass microspheres in the river deposits. In contrast, soils adjacent to a two-lane highway revealed the presence of microspheres as far as 60 m of the roadway. As opposed to other road dust components, which have commonly been applied in traffic contamination studies, glass microspheres were a good indicator for road dust contamination. Most microspheres showed diverse concentrations of all minor and trace metal(loid)s. The mean contents of As, Pb and Sb (n = 601) were: 0.003 wt%, 0.014 wt% and 0.010 wt%, respectively, and only in some microspherules these elements exceeded EU current/expected regulatory standard levels (0.02%/0.015% for each). Although generally considered to be non-toxic, silica rich microbeads might be the best proxy for non-exhaust particle matter discharged from the road traffic into the environment.

Glass microspheres in road dust of the city of Kielce (south-central Poland) as markers of traffic-related pollution

Glass microspheres are widely used as reflective components in road and pavement marking materials. They commonly occur in road dust mixed with different particles of anthropogenic and geogenic origin. This paper describes different methods that enable discrimination of glass microspheres from other morphologically similar particles that occur in road dust of Kielce. The individual glass microspheres vary from 30 to 1350 µm in diameter and consist of recycled Ca-, Na-, Mg-silica glass with a minor admixture of Al, Fe, K and S. Because of their stability and chemical composition, glass microspheres are good markers of traffic-related pollution in different environmental archives. Of different elements present in Kielce road dust, the fraction < 0.125 mm was distinctly abundant in zirconium, the main constituent of disk brakes or brake pads and a potential marker of road traffic pollution. However, the statistically significant positive correlation of the Si-Zr pair (R = 0.54) in the 1.0-2.0 mm fraction is linked to the presence of some detritic quartz grains with zircon inclusions. The other metals determined provide ambiguous traffic-related signatures and may be derived from different pollution sources.

Significance of the long-term biomonitoring studies for understanding the impact of pollutants on the environment based on a synthesis of 25-year biomonitoring in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland

This review presents compiled results of complex biomonitoring studies that have been conducted in the Holy Cross Mountains, south-central part of Poland, since the 1990s. The significance of these studies results from several aspects: (i) a number and a variety of plant organisms used, e.g., mosses, lichens, coniferous and deciduous trees, and their tissues (wood, bark, needles, leaves, the aboveground parts of several vascular plants); (ii) applications of a broad scope of instrumental methods aiming at determining major and trace elements (including rare earth elements), organic compounds (PAHs, PCBs, phenols), and stable sulfur isotopes (δ³⁴S); and (iii) different methodological and environmental issues addressed. The comparison and interpretation of results derived from seventeen sampling campaigns carried out between 1994 and 2017 are a valuable source of information on the following: (i) bioaccumulative properties of organisms used in air quality monitoring, (ii) identification and variations of local and regional pollution sources and geochemical landscape patterns and processes over years, and (iii) establishing environmental factors that variously affected chemical composition of plants growing under physiological stress, including roadside vegetation and plants from acid mine drainage areas.

Trace elements and stable sulfur isotopes in plants of acid mine drainage area: Implications for revegetation of degraded land

The abundances of trace elements, a low pH of water and soil in areas impacted by the acid mine drainage (AMD) may cause an excessive uptake of potentially toxic elements and nutritional imbalances in plants. Metal-tolerant, native plants are used for revegetation of degraded mining areas. We established levels of selected trace elements and stable sulfur isotopes in the above-ground plant biomass collected in a mining area in south-central Poland. In 2016, 20 samples of the most common species were collected from sites with a different influence of acid mine drainage and analyzed for trace elements by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique. On the basis of the results obtained in 2016, the most contaminated site was selected for a more detailed study, in which sulfur contents and stable sulfur isotope ratios were determined together with trace elements in 17 samples. The results confirmed that the plants native to the AMD area efficiently accumulated trace elements, especially As and rare earth elements. Mosses showed the highest content of trace elements, but exhibited the lowest concentrations of sulfur accompanied by the highest δ³⁴S values. It has been shown for the first time that stable sulfur isotope composition of AMD plants in south-central Poland is significantly depleted in the ³⁴S isotope showing an average δ³⁴S value of -10.5‰ in comparison with positive δ³⁴S values in local vegetation growing outside the AMD area and in local precipitation.

A first insight into the estimation of uncertainty associated with storage and physical preparation of forest moss samples for trace element analysis

To assess the level of uncertainty related to storage and physical preparation, 27 combined samples of moss species Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt and their duplicates were collected within three forest areas. Each sample was divided into three sub-samples subjected to further treatment: D - drying (20-25 °C), F - freezing (-20 °C), and A - acclimatization (4 °C). After 7 days, all the samples were split into two sub-samples for physical preparation, dry (P1) and wet (P2) cleaning, respectively. Subsequently, the samples were milled, digested in a closed microwave system and analysed for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn using the flame (FAAS) and graphite furnace (GFAAS) atomic absorption spectrometry. In four out of eight metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni), the lowest mean values were in the samples stored at -20 °C, however, in two cases (Cd, Pb), the acclimatization procedure also led to lower concentrations. Except for Mn and Zn, the higher contents of elements were found in samples that were dry cleaned after storage. The level of sample storage uncertainty (s_rstor) varied from 4.8% to 24.0%. The uncertainty related to preparation was in the range of 3.0-21.0%. Only for Co, the contribution of s_rstor uncertainty to the budget of uncertainty was lower than that from physical preparation. For the other elements, this contribution was at a similar level (Ni, Zn) or higher (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb). In most cases, the lower s_rprep values were obtained when the samples were dry cleaned after storage, regardless of the storage conditions.

Extreme enrichment of arsenic and rare earth elements in acid mine drainage: Case study of Wiśniówka mining area (south-central Poland)

The Wiśniówka rock strip mining area (south-central Poland) with quartzite quarries, acid water bodies and tailings piles is one of the most unique acid mine drainage (AMD) sites throughout the world. This is due to the occurrence of enormous amounts of pyrite unknown in sedimentary formations worldwide. Of the two mineralization zones, one that is the most abundant in arsenical pyrite occurs in the lowermost Upper Cambrian formation of the Podwiśniówka quarry. The As-rich pyritiferous clastic rocks are exposed as a result of deep quartzite extraction during 2013-2014. In addition, the clayey-silty shale interbeds are enriched in rare earth element (REE) minerals. The mining operation left an acidic lake with a pH of about 2.4-2.6 and increased contents of sulfates, metal(loid)s and REE. The Podwiśniówka pyrite-rich waste material was stacked up in many places of the mining area giving rise to strongly acidic spills that jeopardized the neighboring environment. One of these unexplored tailings piles was a source of extremely sulfate- and metal(loid)-rich pools with unusual enrichments in As (up to 1548 mg L^-1) and REE (up to 24.84 mg L^-1). These distinctly exceeded those previously reported in the Wiśniówka area. A broad scope of geochemical, mineralogical and petrographic methods was used to document these specific textural and mineralogical properties of pyrite facilitating its rapid oxidation. The pyrite oxidation products reacted with REE-bearing minerals releasing these elements into acid water bodies. Statistical methods were employed to connect the obtained tailings pool hydrogeochemical data with those derived from this and the previous studies of the Podwiśniówka and Wiśniówka Duża acid pit lakes. In contrast to metal(loid) profiles, the characteristic shale-normalized REE concentration patterns turned out to be more suitable for solving different AMD issues including provenance of mine waste material in the tailings pile examined.

Geochemical anomalies of trace elements in unremediated soils of Mt. Karczówka, a historic lead mining area in the city of Kielce, Poland

Concentrations of selected trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) and rare earth elements were determined in 61 samples of surface soils collected from Mt. Karczówka, a historic Pb ore mining area located in the city of Kielce, south-central Poland. Some of these samples were subjected to XRD analyses and Pb stable isotope measurements. The mineral and chemical composition of rock samples were also examined. Mining activity in the study area was conducted mostly during 15th-17th centuries using technologically primitive methods, and was finally ceased in the first half of the 19th century. More than three thousand old shafts, pits and adits occur in the study area and its vicinity. The soils of the study area have not been remediated since the end of the mining operations. The trace elements of the examined surface soils are heterogeneously distributed with lead concentrations in the range of 41-9114 mg/kg and Pb isotopic signatures similar to those of local galena. The results of trace element measurements allowed us to discriminate geochemical anomalies from background levels and to link mineralogy of the host rocks to the origin of anomalous element concentrations. This study shows that elevated levels of elements of geogenic origin have remained in surface soil for two centuries after cessation of mining operations.

An impact of moss sample cleaning on uncertainty of analytical measurement and pattern profiles of rare earth elements

The main source of rare earth elements (REE) in mosses is atmospheric deposition of particles. Sample treatment operations including shaking, rinsing or washing, which are made in a standard way on moss samples prior to chemical analysis, may lead to removing particles adsorbed onto their tissues. This in turn causes differences in REE concentrations in treated and untreated samples. For the present study, 27 combined moss samples were collected within three wooded areas and prepared for REE determinations by ICP-MS using both manual cleaning by shaking and triple rinsing with deionized water. Higher concentrations of REE were found in manually cleaned samples. The comparison of REE signatures and shale-normalized REE concentration patterns showed that the treatment procedure did not lead to fractionation of REE. All the samples were enriched in medium rare earth elements, and the δMREE factor remained practically unchanged after rinsing. Positive anomalies of Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er and Yb were observed in both, manually cleaned and rinsed samples. For all the elements examined, analytical uncertainty was below 3.0% whereas sample preparation uncertainty computed with ANOVA, RANOVA, modified RANOVA and range statistics methods varied from 3.5 to 29.7%. In most cases the lowest s_rprep values were obtained with the modified RANOVA method.

Rare earth and trace element signatures for assessing an impact of rock mining and processing on the environment: Wiśniówka case study, south-central Poland

A detailed hydrogeochemical study was performed in the Wiśniówka mining area (south-central Poland). This covered three acid pit bodies, historic tailings acid ponds, acid pools, and additionally two neighboring rivers. All these acid mine drainage (AMD) waters are characterized by the pH in the range of 1.7 (pools) to 3.5 (tailings ponds). The most interesting is the Podwiśniówka acid pit lake that shows a very low pH (2.2-2.5) and very high concentrations of SO42- (2720-5460 mg/L), Fe (545-1140 mg/L), Al (86.2 mg/L), As (9603-24,883 μg/L), Co (1317-3458 μg/L), Cr (753-2047 μg/L), Cu (6307-18,879 μg/L), Ni (1168-3127 μg/L), and rare earth element (REE) (589-1341 μg/L). In addition, seeps that drain the Podwiśniówka mine tailings and partly aggregate piles form strong acid pools in the mining area. Along with these pools, in which As and REE contents reach 369,726 and 6288 μg/L, respectively, these waters are among the most distinctive As- and REE-rich AMD surface waters across the world. It is noteworthy that the Podwiśniówka acid pit lake and Wiśniówka Duża acid pit sump exhibit different element signatures and REE concentration patterns normalized to North American Composite Shale (NASC): the Podwiśniówka acid pit lake always shows a characteristic roof-shaped medium REE (MREE) profile with distinct enrichments in Gd, Eu, and Tb whereas the other one displays a step-shaped heavy REE (HREE) profile with positive Tb and Gd anomalies. The REE undergo fractionation during weathering and the subsequent leaching of dissolved and suspended fractions from rocks to acid water bodies where these and other elements are further fractionated by geochemical processes. This study shows that the individual REE have greater affinities for Mn, HREE for Fe and SO42-, and only La and Ce for Al. This specific water geochemistry has enabled us to (i) pinpoint the location of AMD "hot spots" originated from quartzite mining and processing operations conducted by current and previous mining companies, (ii) predict the directions and effects of future strip mining for quartzites in the Wiśniówka Duża and Podwiśniówka open pits, and (iii) evaluate the potential impact of mining and processing effluents on the quality of rivers.

Heterogeneous areas-identification of outliers and calculation of soil sampling uncertainty using the modified RANOVA method

We modified the robust analysis of variance (RANOVA) method to calculate sampling uncertainty of selected trace elements determined in soil samples from two heterogeneous remote historic metal ore mining areas. Classical RANOVA is down-weighting the outlying values by replacing them during the calculation process with mean ± c·σ _r . Because the arithmetic mean is greatly influenced by outliers, it cannot represent a robust statistic. The main novel contribution of this work is use of median value that is independent on outliers and replace all extreme values during the calculation process with median ± 2·σ _r . In our work, 18 duplicate, composite soil samples were collected, digested with aqua regia in a closed microwave system, and analyzed twice for selected trace elements. To extract homogenous groups within sampling areas and make the results more accessible for interpretation, a cluster analysis was done. Subsequently, histograms of each element were prepared and statistical tests were applied to determine the normal distribution of datasets. For abnormally distributed elements, the outlying values were identified by four different methods: boxplot, mean ± c·σ _r , mean ± c·σ, and median ± 2·σ _r . For five elements, the amount of outliers identified by the median ± 2·σ _r procedure was less than 10 %, and for these elements, the sampling uncertainty was computed using a modified RANOVA method. The sampling uncertainty computed with this method was 28.9 % for Cd, 15.2 % for Co, 14.5 % for Mn, 12.7 % for Ni, and 16.3 % for Zn, whereas that computed with a traditional model was 16.7 % for Cd, 9.2 % for Co, 20.5 % for Mn, 17.9 % for Ni, and 16.3 % for Zn.

Moving your laboratories to the field--Advantages and limitations of the use of field portable instruments in environmental sample analysis

The recent rapid progress in technology of field portable instruments has increased their applications in environmental sample analysis. These instruments offer a possibility of cost-effective, non-destructive, real-time, direct, on-site measurements of a wide range of both inorganic and organic analytes in gaseous, liquid and solid samples. Some of them do not require the use of reagents and do not produce any analytical waste. All these features contribute to the greenness of field portable techniques. Several stationary analytical instruments have their portable versions. The most popular ones include: gas chromatographs with different detectors (mass spectrometer (MS), flame ionization detector, photoionization detector), ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared spectrophotometers, X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, ion mobility spectrometers, electronic noses and electronic tongues. The use of portable instruments in environmental sample analysis gives a possibility of on-site screening and a subsequent selection of samples for routine laboratory analyses. They are also very useful in situations that require an emergency response and for process monitoring applications. However, quantification of results is still problematic in many cases. The other disadvantages include: higher detection limits and lower sensitivity than these obtained in laboratory conditions, a strong influence of environmental factors on the instrument performance and a high possibility of sample contamination in the field. This paper reviews recent applications of field portable instruments in environmental sample analysis and discusses their analytical capabilities.

The study of rare earth elements in farmer's well waters of the Podwiśniówka acid mine drainage area (south-central Poland)

The principal objective of the current study was to elucidate the potential influence of acid mine drainage (AMD) pond on neighboring farmer's wells in the Podwiśniówka area (south-central Poland), using North American Shale Composite (NASC)-normalized rare earth element (REE) concentration profiles. The well waters generally displayed a distinctly positive Eu anomaly similar to that of parent rocks and AMD sediment. In contrast, the AMD pit pond water exhibited the typical roof-shaped NASC-normalized REE concentration pattern with a strong positive Gd anomaly. The low pH (mean of 2.9) of this pond water is induced by oxidation of pyrite that occurs in quartz veins and rocks exposed in the abandoned Podwiśniówka quarry. The principal source of REEs in turn is a crandallite series of aluminum–phosphate–sulfate (APS) minerals (gorceixite with florencite and Ce-bearing goyazite) that prevail in most clayey shales. These data indicate that the REE contents of the AMD pit pond and well waters are linked to bedrock mineralogy and lithology, but not to pyrite mineralization. The diverse REE patterns of NASC-normalized REE concentrations of the AMD and well waters may suggest complex sorption and desorption processes that occur at the rock–water interface influenced by different pH, Eh, temperature, and other factors. This is evidenced by a presence of strong positive Ce anomaly in the rocks, a lack of Ce anomaly in the AMD water and sediment, and the dominant negative anomaly of this element in the well waters. Variations in correlation coefficients (r 2) of REE concentrations between the rocks and the well waters may also result from a different contribution of quartzites, clayey shales, or tuffites to the REE signal of well waters as well as from mixing of shallow groundwater with infiltrating rainwater or meltwater with different REE profiles.

Assessing the Anthropocene with geochemical methods

Anthropogenic chemical contamination is one of the most evident signals of human influence on the environment. The large amounts of industrially produced pollutants that have been introduced, over decades, into air, soil and water have caused modifications to natural elemental cycling. Anthropogenic contamination usually leads to enrichment in many elements, particularly in industrial areas. Thus, certain elements and their isotopes can be used as geochemical tracers of anthropogenic impact. Some human-induced changes in the environment may be regarded as a secondary effect of pollution, such as acidification, which causes increased geochemical mobility of several trace elements in surficial deposits. Methods used by geochemists to assess the scale of anthropogenic influence on the environment include calculations of anthropogenic influence on the environment via enrichment and contamination factors, geoaccumulation index and pollution load index. The use of geochemical background levels for delineating between natural and anthropogenic pollution is important. A historical perspective of anthropogenic contamination, allied with isotopic and geochemical signatures in dated sediment cores, may be applied to help define the Anthropocene.

Anomalous concentrations of rare earth elements in the moss-soil system from south-central Poland

Fourteen rare earth elements were determined in mosses (Pleurozium schreberi) and soils (subhorizon-Ofh and -Ol, mixed horizon-AE and AEB) from south-central Poland. The results were normalized against North American Shale Composite (NASC) and Post-Archean Australian Shales (PAAS). The distribution of REEs in the moss-soil system differed considerably, but all the samples showed the average percent of increase of medium rare earth elements. The shale-normalized concentration ratios calculated for selected elements (LaN/YbN, GdN/YbN, LaN/SmN) were in the range of 1.22-2.43, 1.74-3.10 and 0.86-1.09. Both subhorizon-Ofh (-Ol) and horizon-AE (-AEB) showed a weak enrichment of Gd. The shale-normalized patterns of soils showed a somewhat negative Eu anomaly in the horizon-AE (-AEB), and a slightly negative Ce anomaly in the subhorizon-Ofh (-Ol). A strongly positive Eu anomaly and a somewhat negative Nd anomaly were found in the moss samples.

Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. as trace element bioindicators: statistical comparison of bioaccumulative properties

The principal objective of this study was to compare bioaccumulative properties of two terrestrial moss species Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Kielce area (south-central Poland), using various statistical techniques. Forty-six moss samples from 23 sampling sites located within the city limits were analyzed for 33 trace elements. The results indicated that 17 elements (Ba, Ce, Co, Cu, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Sm, V, Y) dominated in H. splendens, whereas only three elements (Mn, Sr, Zn) occurred in excessive amounts in P. schreberi. No differences in the distribution pattern of Dy, Er, Ho, Sn, Tb, Th and Yb were observed. The element concentration ratio (PI/Hy) varied from 0.50 to 1.19. For 14 elements (Ce, Co, Cu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Sm, Th, V), PI/Hy < 1; for 4 elements (Cd, Mn, Sr, Zn), PI/Hy > 1; for 7 elements (Ba, Dy, Er, Eu, Pr, Y, Yb), PI/Hy = equalled 1. Czekanowski's method showed similarities in rare earth element concentrations for both moss species. The cluster analysis exhibited three significant clusters at D(link)/D(max) x 100 < 50 for both moss species. Strong positive Spearman correlations between both moss species were recorded for the following pairs: Ba-Ba, Co-Co, Er-Er, Eu-Eu, Gd Gd, Mn-Mn, Ni-Ni, Pb-Pb, Pr-Pr, Sm-Sm, Th-Th, Y-Y, and Yb-Yb. Nonparametric tests (Sign test, Wilcoxon tests) showed statistically significant differences only for Cd, Ce, Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb and Sr. The scanning electron microscope study of H. splendens and P. schreberi revealed a different morphology of these species with no injuries.

Pesticide burial grounds in Poland: a review

Obsolete pesticides were stored in Poland from the middle sixties until the late eighties of the 20th century mostly in underground disposal sites, called "pesticide burial grounds" or "pesticide tombs". The total amount of pesticide waste and packaging materials disposed of in these landfills exceeded 20000 Mg. Typically, the content of a pesticide tomb was dominated by organochlorine pesticides (comprising 10-100% of the total waste volume) with DDT as the prevailing compound. Other pesticide types, such as phosphoroorganic, carbamate insecticides, dinitrophenols, phenoxyacids, and inorganic compounds were stored in smaller quantities, usually not exceeding 10-20% of the total waste volume. With the growing awareness of the threats that these landfills posed to the environment, the first inventory for the whole country was made in 1993 and remediation was initiated in 1999. The total amount of waste, which had to be removed from the known pesticide tombs (hazardous substances, contaminated soils, construction materials etc.) was about 100000 Mg. According to the National Waste Management Plan, the reclamation of pesticide tombs was assumed to have been finished by the end of 2010, however, this goal has not been achieved. The aim of this review is to present a historical perspective of pesticide burial grounds in Poland with an emphasis on their creation, function, inventory, and remediation. Based on unpublished reports, and other published materials of limited availability written in Polish, this review may serve as a source of information for representatives of other countries, where remediation of pesticide burial grounds is still in progress. The experience gained over a ten-year period, when restoration of pesticide tombs was implemented in Poland, reveals that there are many obstacles to this action arising not only from technical, but also from economic and social issues.

PAH concentrations in the moss species Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. from the Kielce area (south-central Poland)

Forty eight samples of mosses Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Kielce area (south-central Poland) were analyzed for seventeen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The PAH concentrations varied from 558.00 μg/kg (ppb) to 4457.00 μg/kg in H. splendens and from 643.00 to 3086.00 μg/kg in P. schreberi. In both moss species phenanthrene (75.00-732.00 μg/kg), fluoranthene (101.00-577.00 μg/kg) and pyrene (68.00-568.00 μg/kg) predominated, but H. splendens accumulated more PAHs than P. schreberi at eighteen different sites. The highest PAH concentrations were noted at sites located close to the housing estates (sites 1-10) and potential emission sources (e.g. heat and power generating plant "Kielce S.A.") (sites 19-21). The moss samples displayed the diverse ring sequence, but the most prevalent was four>five>three>six. The diagnostic ratios (three+four ring/total PAHs, Flu/Py, Phen/Ant, Phen/Phen+Ant, Flu/Flu+Py, IndPy/IndPy+BghiPe and BaA/BaA+Chr) indicated that coal and petroleum combustion was a principal PAH source in the study area.

The influence of chloride deicers on mineral nutrition and the health status of roadside trees in the city of Kielce, Poland

Application of chemical road deicers has a negative impact on roadside vegetation. Every year, the trees in cities suffer from direct and indirect effects of salt application for winter road maintenance. To elucidate this problem in the city of Kielce, the chemistry of snow, soil, tree bark, and leaf samples has been investigated together with an assessment of the health status of the trees. Twelve investigation sites were selected along the roads with different traffic intensity. Snow samples were collected twice during the winter and analyzed for pH, EC, Na(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and Cl(-). In soil (collected from two depth intervals), tree bark, and leaf samples, the concentrations of B, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, P, S, and Zn were determined. The contents of total organic carbon (TOC) in soils, as well as the pH of soil and tree bark samples were also measured. Negative symptoms revealed by roadside trees included the loss of assimilative apparatus and decreased vitality. The results of chemical analyses indicated that the snowmelt might be a substantial source of chloride ions and alkalizing substances that influenced higher pH of soils. The soil samples displayed elevated concentrations of S and Zn and lower than typical for soil contents of B, Mg, and TOC. The pH of alkaline soils favored greater bioavailability of B and reduced bioavailability of Na and Zn by the trees examined.

Mercury in mosses Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. from Poland and Alaska: understanding the origin of pollution sources

This report shows baseline concentrations of mercury in the moss species Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Kielce area and the remaining Holy Cross Mountains (HCM) region (south-central Poland), and Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska) and Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska). Like mosses from many European countries, Polish mosses were distinctly elevated in Hg, bearing a signature of cross-border atmospheric transport combined with local point sources. In contrast, Alaskan mosses showed lower Hg levels, reflecting mostly the underlying geology. Compared to HCM, Alaskan and Kielce mosses exhibited more uneven spatial distribution patterns of Hg. This variation is linked to topography and location of local point sources (Kielce) and underlying geology (Alaska). Both H. splendens and P. schreberi showed similar bioaccumulative capabilities of Hg in all four study areas.

Stable sulphur isotope ratios in the moss species Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. from the Kielce area (south-central Poland)

Stable sulphur isotope determinations were performed on 18 moss samples collected at nine sites in forested areas of the city of Kielce. The delta(34)S of Hylocomium splendens varied from 4.4 to 7.1 per thousand, whereas the delta(34)S of Pleurozium schreberi was in the range of 3.7-9.1 per thousand. The Holy Cross Mountains mosses display a positive delta(34)S signature of airborne SO(2) and sulphates of anthropogenic origin, which is characteristic for this part of Europe. Some spatial variations in the delta(34)S of mosses are due to the interactions that occur between coal combustion emissions with diverse isotopic imprints, variations in wind direction and topographic features combined with biological fractionation.

The use of the barbell cluster ANOVA design for the assessment of environmental pollution: a case study, Wigierski National Park, NE Poland

This report presents an assessment of chemical variability in natural ecosystems of Wigierski National Park (NE Poland) derived from the calculation of geochemical baselines using a barbell cluster ANOVA design. This method enabled us to obtain statistically valid information with a minimum number of samples collected. Results of summary statistics are presented for elemental concentrations in the soil horizons-O (Ol + Ofh), -A and -B, 1- and 2-year old Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) needles, pine bark and Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. (lichen) thalli, as well as pH and TOC. The scope of this study also encompassed S and C stable isotope determinations and SEM examinations on Scots pine needles. The variability for S and trace metals in soils and plant bioindicators is primarily governed by parent material lithology and to a lesser extent by anthropogenic factors. This fact enabled us to study concentrations that are close to regional background levels.

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, and trace metals in selected soil profiles and plant bioindicators in the Holy Cross Mountains, south-central Poland

This report presents the results of PAH, phenol, and selected trace element (Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, S, and Zn) determinations on detailed soil profiles and associated plant bioindicators (including lichen Hypogymnia physodes, moss Hylocomium splendens, pine Pinus sylvetris) from the three most representative habitats in the Holy Cross Mts, south-central Poland. This study is only part of a larger ongoing environmental study that includes complex sulfur isotope and element determinations in three national parks in N, central and S parts of Poland. The highest concentrations of PAHs (1887 ppb) and numerous trace elements are found in the organic horizon-O and humic horizon-A of each soil type. Different plant species and their individual tissues reveal considerable variability in the concentration of PAHs, phenols and elements examined. Most of the H. physodes thalli also reveal higher concentrations of individual hydrocarbons and some elements (including S and Zn) than their host bark. The highest concentration levels of phenols (1217 ppb) are noted in the 1-year pine needles. Most of the PAHs and elements examined seem to be of anthropogenic origin. The only exception is the distribution pattern of elements in southwestern part of the study area, which is linked to the local bedrock geochemical anomaly. The results of this study indicate that the content of PAHs, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, S and Zn in the soils and plant bioindicators examined has not changed considerably since 1998.