AN XRF APPLICATION FOR ASSESSING SOIL POLLUTION ON AN INDUSTRIAL BARREN UNDER SEVERE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE ARCTIC REGION

Along with severe climatic conditions of an industrial barren in the Arctic region comes the possible exposure to pollution not typically seen in natural habitats. This study aimed at developing an express methodology with a field-portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer (pXRF) to assess soil pollution on an industrial barren site in the impact zone of the copper-nickel enterprise in the Murmansk region, Russia. PXRF has become a common tool when studying contaminated (especially with lead (Pb)) soils but has not thus far been used to assess multiple metal contamination on natural and recultivated peats. We conducted a field analysis of the surface soil layer, soil sampling to a depth of 0-5 cm, analysis of grinded samples to a particle size of <2 mm and< 0.08 mm with a pXRF for nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc, Pb, and arsenic (As). Three variants of soils dominating at the study site were podzol, peat soil and peat brought in during the recultivation work. Selected 15 soil samples of <2 mm and <0.08 mm particle size was analyzed on the ICP-MS for XRF verification. The results show that there is no need to grind the soil to a particle size of <2 mm for both podzol and peaty soils, for all potentially toxic metal(loid)s. To evaluate the impact of pollution on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, taking a representative sample to a depth of at least 10 cm is necessary considering that concentrations of metals in the surface layer of soil and in the soil profile may be uneven. This is especially evident for the elements-pollutants such as Cu, Ni, and As.