TY - JOUR
T1 - In-situ assessment of metal contamination via portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
T2 - Zlatna, Romania
AU - Weindorf, David C.
AU - Paulette, Laura
AU - Man, Titus
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Zlatna, Romania is the site of longtime mining/smelting operations which have resulted in widespread metal pollution of the entire area. Previous studies have documented the contamination using traditional methods involving soil sample collection, digestion, and quantification via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy or atomic absorption. However, field portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (PXRF) can accurately quantify contamination in-situ, in seconds. A PXRF spectrometer was used to scan 69 soil samples in Zlatna across multiple land use types. Each site was georeferenced with data inputted into a geographic information system for high resolution spatial interpolations. These models were laid over contemporary aerial imagery to evaluate the extent of pollution on an individual elemental basis. Pb, As, Co, Cu, and Cd exceeded governmental action limits in >50% of the sites scanned. The use of georeferenced PXRF data offers a powerful new tool for in-situ assessment of contaminated soils.
AB - Zlatna, Romania is the site of longtime mining/smelting operations which have resulted in widespread metal pollution of the entire area. Previous studies have documented the contamination using traditional methods involving soil sample collection, digestion, and quantification via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy or atomic absorption. However, field portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (PXRF) can accurately quantify contamination in-situ, in seconds. A PXRF spectrometer was used to scan 69 soil samples in Zlatna across multiple land use types. Each site was georeferenced with data inputted into a geographic information system for high resolution spatial interpolations. These models were laid over contemporary aerial imagery to evaluate the extent of pollution on an individual elemental basis. Pb, As, Co, Cu, and Cd exceeded governmental action limits in >50% of the sites scanned. The use of georeferenced PXRF data offers a powerful new tool for in-situ assessment of contaminated soils.
KW - Arsenic
KW - Lead
KW - Metals
KW - Spatial variability
KW - Zlatna
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881086159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.008
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 23906556
AN - SCOPUS:84881086159
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 182
SP - 92
EP - 100
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
ER -