Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

DOI 10.1007/s11270-010-0372-6

Trace Elements in Soils of Urban Areas

Franco Ajmone-Marsan & Mattia Biasioli

Revised: 11 November 2009 / Accepted: 1 February 2010 / Published online: 17 March 2010
# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Abstract Urban soils are an essential element of the nation, some traffic-related elements such as platinum,
city environment. However, studies on urban soils are rhodium, and palladium, whose reactivity and toxicity is
scattered in terms of geographical distribution, sampling still unknown, are becoming of concern. Collation of
pattern, analytical dataset, etc. One of the major issues literature data highlights the need for the harmonization
arising from the studies on this ecosystem is the of sampling, analytical, and rendering procedures for
diffusion of its contamination. In cities, in fact, the regulatory purposes and provides a useful dataset for
proximity to humans may cause a serious danger for environmental scientists dealing with the urban ecosys-
citizens. In the present study, results from the literature tem and for city planners. A sampling design adapted to
about trace elements in urban soils are presented to local urban patterns, a prescribed sampling depth, and a
compare methodologies and results and to offer a basis minimum set of elements that deserve to be measured
for the harmonization of investigation approaches and could be the core of a common methodology.
establishment of remediation thresholds. A total of 153
studies on the urban ecosystem published in the last Keywords Urban soils . Trace elements .
10 years were collected and data on trace elements in Contamination . Cities
soils of 94 world cities were compared and discussed.
Data highlights the discrepancies among different
studies (sampling strategies, analytical procedures) and 1 Introduction
the extreme variability of urban soils. Most cities are
contaminated by one or more trace elements, revealing In 2005, 49% of humankind, 3.2 thousand million
the environmental relevance of the urban soil system. people, lived in an urban area and, by 2070, roughly
While Pb is still one of the major concerns in many 70% is expected to be urban (United Nations 2008).
locations, new contaminants are on the rise and would In the most developed regions, more than half of the
deserve more attention from the researchers. While in population already lived in cities in 1950 (Fig. 1) and
fact some contaminants are almost ubiquitous in world is projected to reach nearly 80% by the year 2030. A
cities and could be used as tracers for urban contami- recent report by the European Environment Agency
(2006) has highlighted the effects of the expanding
F. Ajmone-Marsan : M. Biasioli (*) urban areas on the environment.
DI.VA.P.R.A.—Chimica Agraria, Soil is an essential compartment of the urban
Università degli Studi di Torino,
ecosystem, contributing directly or indirectly to the
Via Leonardo da Vinci 44,
10095 Grugliasco, Turin, Italy general quality of life (de Hollander and Staatsen
e-mail: mattia.biasioli@unito.it 2003; van Kamp et al. 2003). In urban areas, it
122 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Fig. 1 Proportion (in per- 100

cent) of urban population on
the total population (United 90
Nations 2008)
80

Percentage of urban population

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Percentage urban more developed regions less developed regions

acquires additional functions with respect to natural or such. In fact a number of problems, listed below,
agricultural soils. As an element of the landscape, it complicate the inference procedures commonly used
has esthetical and recreational functions in parks and for rural areas.
gardens and contributes to the preservation of
biodiversity. The urban soil often undergoes rapid use High Spatial Variability of Chemical, Physical, and
changes which often end up with extensive sealing, Biological Properties Recent research (Madrid et al.
which alters its relationships with the other ecosystem 2006; Wei and Yang 2009) indicates that urban soils
compartments, air, water, and biota. Its substrate can be have a very high variability, even in the short range.
mixed with other anthropogenic materials that may This concerns not only the usual soil quality indica-
modify its functioning (De Kimpe and Morel 2000; tors such as pH or cation exchange capacity but also
Morel et al. 2005). Anthropic activities, such as the pollutants. This is due in part to the natural soil
industry, traffic, fuel combustion, and waste disposal, spatial variability but, in a city environment, the
often result in soil pollution. In other terms, most of the spatial heterogeneity is greatly intensified by human
major threats to soil conservation listed by the activities. In fact, excavation, redistribution, and
European Commission (2006), viz., erosion, saliniza- mixing of the soil matrix and addition of extraneous
tion, compaction, sealing, and contamination, are materials are frequent in the built environment as a
active in urban environments. consequence of the intensive use of the territory and
There is a substantial body of literature dealing the rapid land use changes. Soil-forming processes are
with urban soils contamination. Sources like traffic, deeply modified or interrupted when sealing of the
heating, industry, and waste disposal have often surface occurs and are resumed when built areas are
caused contamination of the soils with organic and dismantled. Soil features are then the result of
inorganic pollutants. Among others, polycyclic aro- complex processes that might be very far from the
matic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, diox- natural ones.
ins, metals, and metalloids are the main causes of
concern. The typical diffuse pattern of this contami- Fragmented Distribution As a large portion of the
nation and the proximity of soils to humans enhance surface of an urban area is sealed by constructions or
the risk for citizens. roads, the areas where the soil is exposed have very
When investigating soils of cities, the traditional variable sizes and usually are randomly distributed.
approach to soil survey and investigation that are used This would add a constraint to the sampling design
in open, non-urban areas cannot be transferred as which is then limited to the exposed surfaces
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 123

Unknown Accessibility During the phase of soil categories physiologically more concerned by this
survey preparation, maps or aerial photographs are kind of contamination (Ren et al. 2006; De Miguel et
usually used to identify areas of exposed soil so to be al. 2007).
able to plan the sampling operation. However, when Sources of trace elements are manifold and, as an
field operations are carried out, many places may be example, the amounts of metals that can be emitted
inaccessible or accessible only by permission for yearly by traffic in the Netherlands are reported in
various reasons: private property, construction areas, Table 1. The accumulation of trace elements under
no-traffic areas. The sampling coverage can then be various forms in the urban environments has been
further limited. estimated for some cities. In Stockholm, Sweden, the
stock of Cd resulted to be 0.2 kg per capita together
Rapid and Unpredictable Land Use Change In cities, with 8 kg Cr, 170 kg Cu, 0.01 kg Hg, 4 kg Ni, 73 kg
land use change is often rapid. As a result, surveyed Pb, and 40 kg Zn (Sörme et al. 2001). In the city of
locations might disappear and new sites are exposed Vienna, the stock of Pb in goods was calculated to be
that would require new sampling. The traditional 230 kg per capita and as much as 1,840 kg of lead per
approach to sampling design is then not directly square meter of floorspace (Obernosterer and Brunner
transferable to urban areas and remote sensing- and 2001). More recently, Drakonakis et al. (2007)
geographic information system-supported techniques reported an average 238 kg Cu per capita in the
become indispensable. USA. In studying metal stocks in the urban regions of
This paper reviews studies conducted in the last Australia, van Beers and Graedel (2007) estimated Cu
10 years of trace elements in the soils of cities and Zn stock spatial densities to be more than 100
throughout the world in order to compare methodol- times greater than in rural areas.
ogies and results and to offer a basis for the In Table 2, data are collated of the studies on urban
harmonization of investigation approaches and estab- areas (their geographical distribution is presented in
lishment of remediation thresholds. Fig. 2) published in the last 10 years showing soil
uses or location, number of samples, and sampling
depth. The soil use in sampling locations is very
diverse, reflecting the variety of city landscapes,
2 Trace Elements in Urban Soils although parks and roadsides are the most common
locations. Although an effort was made to select
The concentration of energy and matter in a city studies about diffuse contamination, in some cases, it
brings about the accumulation of trace elements was not possible to separate the effect of a specific
(Wong et al. 2006). In fact, when collectively source of pollution.
compared with the outlying areas (Higgs et al. 1999; The number of samples ranges from a minimum of
Birke and Rauch 2000; Gbadegesin and Olabode three to a maximum of 2,182, allowing for very
2000; Thuy et al. 2000; Zhai et al. 2003; Biasioli et al. different consistency in the extrapolation of soil
2006), urban soils appear to be definitely more properties to the entire city. The same variability is
contaminated than their agricultural or natural sur- observed for sampling depth which ranges from 1 to
roundings (Johnson and Ander 2008). For example, 25 cm. It is evident that the dilution effect of surface-
garden soils contain twice the concentration of metals deposited contaminants is very different and compar-
(Cd, Pb, and Zn) as corresponding agricultural soils isons are not immediate. However, a general picture
(Schwartz et al. 1995). The risk from high concen- can be obtained for many trace elements.
trations of trace elements is usually related to their Some interesting data can be derived on the
likelihood to leach to groundwater or to enter the food methods used for the extraction of elements from soil
chain through plant uptake. In city environments, samples. Of a total amount of almost 12,000 samples
however, due to the proximity of the soil to humans, it (94 studies), in the majority of cases (25), aqua regia
is mostly through dermal contact with the soil, direct (HCl:HNO3, 3:1 ratio) was used as extractant (2,272
ingestion, and inhalation of particles that trace samples in total), followed by HF in combination with
elements exert their toxicity (Abrahams 2002; Poggio other strong acids (13 studies, 1,002 samples in total)
et al. 2009). Children and elderly people are the social and by a mixture HNO3:HClO4 (nine studies, 1,043
124 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Table 1 Calculated
emissions of trace elements Contamination Exhaust Oil leaks Tires Brakes Radiator Total
(in tons per year) by car
traffic per emission source Arsenic 0.17 0.015 0.013 0.004 0.20
(based on 6×106 vehicles; Cadmium 1.2 0.002 0.73 1.9
modified from Van Bohemen Chromium 1.7 0.014 2.6 0.518 4.8
and Van de Laak 2003)
Copper 0.25 0.061 3.65 9.072 50.9 63.9
Lead 240 1.96 0.022 0.072 242
Nickel 1.7 0.007 2.48 0.285 0.192 4.7
Zinc 2.3 1.49 175 0.117 0.168 179

samples in total) or HNO3:H2O2 (seven studies, 995 relevant reference. Grouping was done according to
samples). Other studies used HNO 3 in various the limits of 100, 200, and 500 mg kg−1 that represent
concentrations (12 studies, 1,826 samples) or other common limits for the evaluation of soil Pb contam-
extraction methods (e.g., H2SO4 + KMnO4; sum of ination in Europe (Environment Agency 2002; Min-
fractions extracted using sequential extraction meth- istero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del
ods, etc.). A nondestructive detection method (X-ray Mare 2006; VROM—The Ministry of Housing,
fluorescence) has also been employed on a large Spatial Planning and Environment 2000).
number of soil samples, given its quick response In Europe, the lowest concentrations of Pb are
(seven studies, 3,389 samples analyzed). The vari- reported for Aveiro and Jakobstad that both average
ability in the extraction methods used in the literature 20 mg kg−1. These are small cities (population 53,000
can be a serious constraint in the comparison of and 175,000, respectively) where traffic does not
published data. In fact, although the term “total” is appear to be a prominent source of pollution. Other
often used in the studies, data can be assumed to have cities with a population below 200,000 like
a 20–30% of variation from the others due to the Osnabrück, Uppsala, Mieres, Galway, Celje, and
different extraction techniques adopted. Aberdeen show an average Pb content in the topsoil
<100 mg kg−1. Unexpectedly, however, large cities
2.1 Lead like Beijing, Warsaw, Koyang, or Xuzhou are also
reported to have an average soil content <100 mg kg−1.
Lead has been used as an antiknock agent in gasoline Three cities in the USA, Baltimore, Boston, and
since 1920 and has been one of the major sources of Chicago, and three Italian ones, Naples, Palermo, and
pollution in cities together with lead used in paints. Rome, have an average Pb content above 200 mg kg−1.
Other sources of Pb are car batteries, glass, radiation All cities in this group are medium–large sized.
shields, and soldering. In recent years, electronic Remarkably low Pb concentrations have been reported
products, e-wastes, have grown as a considerable Pb for various cities around the world. Urban soils of
source (Terazono et al. 2006; Lincoln et al. 2007). Its Ibadan show an average concentration of 5 mg kg−1
manifest toxic effects (Järup 2003; Nevin 2007) have (range, 4–6 mg kg−1) in the top 20 cm and those of
prompted a generalized reduction of its use. Unleaded Addis Ababa and Danang show a maximum concen-
gasoline is now in use in the vast majority of tration of 20 mg kg−1. In Raipur, the soils have an
countries (IPIECA—International Petroleum Industry average Pb content of 26 mg kg−1.
Environmental Conservation Association 2003) and Where the mean or median is not provided, the
Pb has been banned from paint since 1978. However, range of values was taken into account. The data in
its long use and persistence in the environment has Table 3 confirm the extreme variability of Pb
concentrated Pb in urban areas and numerous studies contamination in urban areas. Eleven cities have in
have been carried out in cities to investigate the fact a range of concentration larger than 500 mg kg−1.
possible toxicological consequences or to simply For most cities, nevertheless, high maxima are
monitor the content of the soils. reported. In particular, 26,500 mg kg−1 were mea-
The cities for which data are available for this sured in Gibraltar and 14,900 mg kg−1 in the soils of
element are shown in Table 3, together with the Wolverhampton. The inner city of Berlin shows as
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 125

Table 2 Cities for which soil data are available and details of the studies

City Country Population Latitude Longitude Soil usea No. of Depth Reference
samples (cm)

Aberdeen UK 202,370 57°08′ N 2°05′ W Roadside/ 80+14 0–10 Paterson et al. 1996;
park Yang et al. 2006
Abuja Nigeria 400,000 9°03′ N 7°29′ E Roadside 40 0–5 Kakulu 2003
Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2,464,000 9°01′ N 38°45′ E Urban 7 n.r. Alemayehu 2006.
Amman Jordan 2,125,000 31°56′ N 35°56′ E Street dust 120 n.r. Al-Khashman 2007
Amursk Russia 46,000 50°13′ N 136°54′ E Urban 30 n.r. Kot and Matyushkina 2002
Antalya Turkey 603,200 36°45′ N 30°56′ E Urban 73 0–5 Guvenç et al. 2003
Athens Greece 745,500 37°58′ N 23°42′ E Park 180 0–20 Chronopoulos et al. 1997;
Riga-Karandinos et al.
2006
Auby France 15,000 52°25 N 3°03′ E Urban 27 0–25 Douay et al. 2008
Aveiro Portugal 54,000 40°38′ N 8°39′ W Urban 25 0–10 Madrid et al. 2006;
Rodrigues et al. 2006
Avilés Spain 83,200 43°33′ N 5°55′ W Urban 40 0–15 Ordóñez et al. 2003
Baltimore USA 641,000 39°17′ N 76°36′ W Urban 122 0–10 Pouyat et al. 2007
Bangkok Thailand 6,355,150 13°43′ N 100°31′ E Urban 30 0–5 Wilcke et al. 1998
Baoji China 3,720,000 34°23′ N 107°08′ E Urban/ 50 0–10 Li and Huang 2007
industrial
Beijing China 17,200,000 39°55′ N 116°22′ E Parks 30 0–5 Chen et al. 2005;
Luo et al. 2008
Berlin Germany 3,405,000 52°31′ N 13°24′ E Inner city 2182 0–20 Birke and Rauch 2000
Bhilai India 689,000 21°11′ N 81°20′ E Urban 21 0–2 Kamavisdar et al. 2005
Boston USA 590,000 42°21′ N 71°03′ W Urban garden 843 0–10 Clark et al. 2006
Bradford UK 467,650 53°47′ N 1°45′ W Urban/rural 42 0–10 Aksoy et al. 1999
Braunschweig Germany 241,000 52°15′ N 10°31′ E Roadside 7 0–2 Wichmann et al. 2007
Brisbane Australia 1,850,000 27°28′ S 153°01′ E Roadside 180 0–2 Al-Chalabi and
Hawker 2000
Calcutta India 4,580,000 22°34′ N 88°21′ E Urban 12 n.r. Chatterjee and
Banerjee 1999
Celje Slovenia 48,100 46°14′ N 15°16′ E Urban 192 0–5 Vrščaj et al. 2002
Changchun China 7,120,000 43°53′ N 125°19′ E Urban 5 n.r. Fang et al. 2004
Chicago USA 2,875,000 41°53′ N 87°37′ W Residential 87 0–10 Finster et al. 2004
garden
Cincinnati USA 332,250 39°06′ N 84°30′ W Roadside 58 0–15 Turer et al. 2001
Dalnegorsk Russia 40,000 44°32′ N 135°31′ E Urban garden/ 62 0–2.54 von Braun et al. 2002
playground
Damascus Syria 1,400,000 33°31′ N 36°17′ E Arable 51 0–25 Möller et al. 2005
Danang Vietnam 752,500 16°06′ N 108°08′ E Rural/crop/ 35 0–20 Thuy et al. 2000
urban/
industrial
Detroit USA 950,000 42°19′ N 83°02′ W Commercial/ 483 0–50 Murray et al. 2004
residential/
industrial
Ermoupolis Greece 13,400 37°26′ N 24°56′ E Urban 31 0–10 Massas et al. 2009
Falun Sweden 36,500 60°36′ N 15°37′ E Urban 10 0–20 Lin et al. 1998
Fuhis Jordan n.a. 32°00′ N 35°47′ E Urban 40 n.r. Banat et al. 2005
Gaborone Botswana 208,500 24°38′ S 25°54′ E Residential/ 94 0–20 Zhai et al. 2003
urban/
industrial/
crop
Gainesville USA 93,000 29°39′ N 82°19′ W Urban 196 0–20 Chirenje et al. 2003, 2004
126 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Table 2 (continued)

City Country Population Latitude Longitude Soil usea No. of Depth Reference
samples (cm)

Galway Ireland 66,000 53°16′ N 9°02′ W Parks/gardens 166 0–10 Zhang 2006
Gibraltar UK 27,000 36°08′ N 5°20′ W Civilian 120 0–15 Mesilio et al. 2003
Glasgow UK 580,700 55°51′ N 4°15′ W Urban 25 0–10 Madrid et al. 2006;
Rodrigues et al. 2006
Hong Kong China 7,041,000 22°16′ N 113°51′ E Urban/tree 100+21 0–10 Li et al. 2001;
pits park Wong and Li 2004;
Lee et al. 2006
Honolulu USA 377,300 21°18′ N 157°51′ Urban/road 7+13 n.r. Sutherland and Tack 2000;
W dust/ De Carlo and Anthony
watershed 2002;
Sutherland 2002;
Sutherland et al. 2007
Ibadan Nigeria 3,540,000 7°22′ N 3°53′ E Urban/ 150+28 0–20 Gbadegesin and Olabode
suburbs/ 2000;
agricultural Olajire and Ayodele 1997
Izmit Turkey 199,000 40°45′ N 29°56′ E Industrial/ 30 0–20 Yilmaz et al. 2003
rural/urban
Jakobstad Finland 19,500 63°40′ N 22°42′ E Urban 32 0–15 Peltola and Åström 2003
Kampala City Uganda 1,350,000 0°18′ N 32°34′ E Roadside 55 0–10 Nabulo et al. 2006
Khabarovsk Russia 579,000 48°28′ N 135°04′ E Urban 122 n.r. Kot and Matyushkina 2002
Koyang Korea 1,073,000 37°30′ N 126°55′ E Urban 42 0–15 Chon et al. 1998
La Coruña Spain 243,000 43° 22′ 8°23′ W Roadside 15 0–5 Cal-Prieto et al. 2001
N
Lagos Nigeria 8,700,000 6°26′ N 3°26′ E Urban 14 n.r. Awofolu 2005
Ljubljana Slovenia 265,900 46°03′ N 14°30′ E Urban 130+25 0–10 Biasioli et al. 2007;
Rodrigues et al. 2006
Lubbock USA 200,000 33°34′ N 101°51′ Urban 52 0–2 Brown et al. 2008
W
Madrid Spain 3,092,800 40°25′ N 3°42′ W Urban 55 0–20 De Miguel et al. 1998
Manila The 10,250,000 14°36′ N 120°58′ E Playgrounds 12 n.r. Sharma and Reutergardh
Philippines 2000
Mexico city Mexico 8,480,000 19°25′ N 99°07′ W Roadside 22+135 n.r./0–2 Morton et al. 2001;
Morton-Bermea et al. 2009
Miami USA 370,000 25°43′ N 80°14′ W Urban 237 0–10/0– Chirenje et al. 2003, 2004
20
Mieres Spain 45,650 43°15′ N 5°46′ W Residential 18 0–20 Loredo et al. 2003
Montevideo Uruguay 1,250,000 34°53′ S 56°04′ W Urban 35 n.r. Schütz et al. 1997
Montreal Canada 1,620,700 45°30′ N 73°33′ W Yard 24 0–15 Sauvé et al. 1996
Moscow Russia 10,300,000 55°45′ N 37°37′ E Urban 3 0–10 Alexandrovskaya and
Alexandrovskiy 2000
Nanjing China 2,822,000 32°03′ N 118°46′ E Urban 138 n.r. Lu et al. 2003
Naples Italy 984,000 40°50′ N 14°15′ E Urban/flower 195+173 0–2/0–15 Cicchella et al. 2003;
beds Imperato et al. 2003
New Orleans USA 484,700 29°57′ N 90°04′ W Urban/school 228+111 0–2.5 Higgs et al. 1999;
playground Mielke et al. 2005
Newcastle u.T. UK 193,000 54°58′ N 1°36′ W Urban 163 0–5 Rimmer et al. 2006
Oslo Norway 553,400 59°54′ N 10°44′ E Urban 300 0–3 Tijhuis et al. 2002
Osnabrück Germany 20,000 52°16′ N 8°03′ E Urban 226 2–10 Bloemen et al. 1995
Ottawa Canada 875,000 45°25′ N 75°41′ W Garden 50 0–5 Rasmussen et al. 2001
Palermo Italy 686,700 38°06′ N 13°21′ E Green areas 70 0–10 Salvagio Manta et al. 2002
Perth Australia 1,450,000 31°59′ S 115°51′ E Roadside 11 0–1 Whiteley and Murray 2003
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 127

Table 2 (continued)

City Country Population Latitude Longitude Soil usea No. of Depth Reference
samples (cm)

Pforzheim Germany 120,000 48°54′ N 8°43′ E Urban 58 0–5 Norra et al. 2006
Pueblo USA 102,000 38°15′ N 104°37′ Urban 66 0–5 Diawara et al. 2006
W
Raipur India 462,000 21°14′ N 81°38′ E Urban 25 0–2 Kamavisdar et al. 2005
Richmond u.T. UK 179,500 51°27′ N 0°20′ W Urban 214 0–15 Kelly and Thornton 1996
Rome Italy 2,800,000 41°53′ N 12°28′ E Park 111 0–5 Cinti et al. 2002;
Angelone et al. 2002
Salamanca Spain 160,300 40°57′ N 5°39′ W Urban 49 0–10 Sánchez-Martin et al. 2000
São Paulo Brazil 10,000,000 23°32′ S 46°38′ W Roadside 4 0–5 Morcelli et al. 2005;
Figueiredo et al. 2009
Seville Spain 704,400 37°22′ N 5°60′ W Urban 154+35 0–10 Madrid et al. 2002;
Rodrigues et al. 2006;
Biasioli et al. 2007
Shangai China 17,000,000 31°14′ N 121°29′ E Roadsides/ 273 0–10 Shi et al. 2008
green/parks
Sheffield UK 470,000 53°22′ N 1°27′ W Urban 4 0–5 Jackson et al. 2007;
Prichard et al. 2008
Shenyang China 3,981,000 41°47′ N 123°24′ E Urban 54 0–10 Wang et al. 2006
South Bend USA 110,000 41°40′ N 86°15′ W Urban 16 0–1 Ely et al. 2001
Stockholm Sweden 788,250 59°19′ N 18°03′ E Urban 42 0–5 Linde et al. 2001
Syracuse USA 150,000 43°02′ N 76°08′ W Urban 194 0–1/0–10 Johnson and Bretsch 2002
Tallinn Estonia 401,000 59°26′ N 24°45′ E Urban 198 0–10 Bityukova et al. 2000
Turin Italy 900,500 45°04′ N 7°41′ E Urban 123+30+ 0–10 Biasioli et al. 2007;
25 Rodrigues et al. 2006;
Biasioli and
Ajmone-Marsan 2007
Turku Finland 175,000 60°27′ N 22°16′ E Urban 100 0–5 Salonen and
Korkka-Niemi 2007
Tuscaloosa USA 78,000 33°12′ N 87°45′ W Urban 4 n.r. Gabriel et al. 2005
Uijeongbu Korea 418,000 37°45′ N 127°03′ E Urban 73 0–15 Chon et al. 1998
Uppsala Sweden 130,000 59°51′ N 17°38′ E Urban 25 0–5 Ljung et al. 2006;
Rodrigues et al. 2006
Valladolid Spain 320,000 41°39′ N 4°43′ W Urban 40 0–10 Sánchez-Martin et al. 2000
Wallsend UK 45,000 55°00′ N 1°31′ W Urban/ 121 0–20 Mellor 2001
suburban
Warsaw Poland 1,702,000 52°14′ N 21°00′ E Urban 36 0–20 Pichtel et al. 1997
Wolverhampton UK 239,100 52°35′ N 2°07′ W Urban 295 0–15 Kelly and Thornton 1996
Wroclaw Poland 700,000 51°06′ N 17°01′ E Garden 14 0–5 Samecka-Cymerman
and Kempers 1999
Xi'an China 3,800,000 34°15′ N 108°56′ E Road dust 65 n.r. Yongming et al. 2006
Xuzhou China 9,020,000 34°15′ N 117°11′ E Urban 21 0–10 Wang and Qin 2007;
Wang and Sun 2009
Zagreb Croatia 779,150 45°47′ N 15°57′ E Agricultural/ 331 0–10 Romic and Romic 2003
urban

n.r. not reported, n.a. not available

a
“Urban” denotes various types of use
128 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Fig. 2 Cities for which soil data are available

much as 4,710 mg kg−1 in the 0- to 20-cm layer and Along the major roads of Brisbane, the range in Pb
3,439 mg kg−1 of Pb were measured in Jakobstad, level is 1,950–3,800 mg kg−1 in the top 2 cm of soil.
despite the low average concentrations reported for In Jordan, where leaded fuel is still in use, up to
the latter. An extremely high Pb concentration of 1,131 mg kg−1 are found in the street dust of
46.7 g kg−1 has been reported for Calcutta soils as a Amman. Up to 730 mg kg−1 were found along the
consequence of smelting emissions and as much as roads of Ibadan. More recently, Yongming et al.
76.9 g kg−1 were reported in the city of Baoji where (2006) measured as much as 3,060 mg kg−1 (median,
Pb-based batteries are being produced. 131 mg kg−1) of Pb in the road street dust of the city
When compared with non-urban soils, the soils of Xi'an in China.
within the city are always heavily concentrated with Pb. In a recent study that included soils from urban
In Danang, rural soils have a maximum of 3 mg kg−1 of yards of 13 US cities, Elless et al. (2007) reported a
Pb, but 743 mg kg−1 were measured in industrial areas. range from 130 mg kg−1 in San Antonio to 5,900 mg
In the city of Gaborone, crop soils have an average of kg−1 in Chicago and an overall median concentration
36 mg kg−1 of Pb, while in the city center, it increases of 780 mg kg −1 . They also observed lead to
to 112 mg kg−1. The rural areas of Izmit have a mean of concentrate in the finest fractions of the soils, silt
16 mg kg−1, while the urban area averages 41 mg kg−1 and clay, also in the form of discrete particles of
of Pb. Similarly, a maximum Pb of 167 mg kg−1 is metal. Similar results were obtained by Ajmone-
reported for the outer city of New Orleans in Marsan et al. (2007) in the soils of five European
comparison to 355 mg kg−1 observed in the midcity. cities, confirming that soil dust can be a major carrier
Biasioli et al. (2006) reported an enrichment of 7.5 of Pb in the human body through ingestion and
times for Pb passing from the outer area to the center of inhalation.
Turin. Yang et al. (2006) measured 32.4 mg kg−1 of Davidson et al. (2006) fractionated the metals of
lead in the rural area around Aberdeen, 138 mg kg−1 in the soils of five cities and found that lead was present
the parks of the city, and 181 mg kg−1 in the roadside mainly in reducible forms in Aveiro, Glasgow, and
soils. Turin but in oxidizable and residual forms in Sevilla.
The soils in the proximity of roads are obviously Results from Ljubljana were more erratic, probably
more vulnerable to Pb contamination. In fact, while the due to the carbonate content. Bretzel and Calderisi
roadside soils of Aberdeen accumulate 173 mg kg−1 of (2006) found that labile, diethylene triamine penta-
lead, the street sides in La Coruña range between 18 acetic acid-extractable Pb in urban soils of Tuscany,
and 801 mg kg−1 and as much as 1,980 mg kg−1 of Pb Italy was correlated to its total content, thus confirm-
are measured along the urban highways of Cincinnati. ing its anthropogenic origin. In the soils of Aberdeen,
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 129

Table 3 Average or range Pb concentrations in the topsoils of city soils

City Country Pb≤100 100<Pb≤200 Pb>200 Pb range≤500 Pb range>500

mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1

Aberdeen UK X X
Abuja Nigeria X
Addis Ababa Ethiopia X
Amman Jordan X
Antalya Turkey X
Athens Greece X
Auby France X
Aveiro Portugal X
Avilés Spain X
Baltimore USA X
Bangkok Thailand X
Baoji China X
Beijing China X
Berlin Germany X
Bhilai India X
Boston USA X
Bradford UK X
Brisbane Australia X
Calcutta India X
Celje Slovenia X
Chicago USA X
Cincinnati USA X
Da Nang Vietnam X
Dalnegorsk Russia X
Damascus Syria X
Danang Vietnam X
Detroit USA X X
Ermoupolis Greece X
Falun Sweden X
Fuhis Jordan X
Gaborone Botswana X X
Gainesville USA X
Galway Ireland X
Gibraltar UK X
Glasgow UK X
Hong Kong China X X
Honolulu USA X X
Ibadan Nigeria X X
Izmit Turkey X
Jakobstad Finland X
Kampala City Uganda X
Koyang Korea X
La Coruña Spain X
Lagos Nigeria X
Ljubljana Slovenia X
130 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Table 3 (continued)

City Country Pb≤100 100<Pb≤200 Pb>200 Pb range≤500 Pb range>500

mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1 mg kg−1

Lubbock USA X
Madrid Spain X
Manila The Philippines X
Mexico City Mexico X
Miami USA X
Mieres Spain X
Montevideo Uruguay X
Moscow Russia X
Nanjing China X
Naples Italy X
New Orleans USA X X
Newcastle u.T. UK X
Oslo Norway X
Osnabrück Germany X
Ottawa Canada X
Palermo Italy X
Pforzheim Germany X
Pueblo USA X
Raipur India X
Richmond u.T. UK X
Rome Italy X
Salamanca Spain X
Sao Paulo Brasil X
Seville Spain X
Shanghai China X
Shenyang China X
Stockholm Sweden X
Syracuse USA X
Tallinn Estonia X
Turin Italy X
Turku Finland X
Uijeongbu Korea X
Uppsala Sweden X
Valladolid Spain X
Wallsend UK X
Warsaw Poland X
Wolverhampton UK X
Wroclaw Poland X
Xi'an China X
Xuzhou China X
Zagreb Croatia X
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 131

the chemical fractionation revealed a strong fixation Osnabrück (1,570 mg kg−1), Berlin (1,840 mg kg−1),
of Pb by Fe and Mn oxides (Yang et al. 2006). Jakobstad (2,612 mg kg−1), Wolverhampton (2,750 mg
Similarly, the reducible fraction of Pb was observed to kg−1), Newcastle upon Tyne (12,107 mg kg−1), and
be dominant in Hong Kong soils (Wong and Li 2004). Gibraltar (12,500 mg kg−1). Street dusts appear to be
Lead was also found to be mainly residual (56.8%) important carriers of Cu as 350 mg kg−1 were
and associated to Fe and Mn oxide (30.9%) in the measured in Amman, Jordan (Al-Khashman 2007)
soils of Nanjing (Lu et al. 2003). El Khalil et al. and 1,071 mg kg−1 in Xi'an. In fact, Cu was observed
(2008) have shown that, for samples collected in the to accumulate in the <10 µm size fraction of the soils
city of Marrakech, metals were mainly associated to of Aveiro, Glasgow, Ljubljana, Sevilla, and Turin, with
the fine fraction but the coarse fraction, including an inverse relation with the total soil content (Ajmone-
technologic material, contained significant amounts of Marsan et al. 2007).
extractable metals. Although the sources of Cu in urban areas are
mainly industrial and inorganic, copper also shows an
2.2 Copper affinity for the organic fraction in urban soils,
similarly to agricultural and forest soils. In Bangkok,
This element is widely used for manufacturing and Wilcke et al. (1998) observed that the organic fraction
electrical wiring. Electronic equipment is also emerg- was the dominant fraction of total Cu. Similar results
ing as a source of Cu (Lincoln et al. 2007; Wong et al. were obtained by Thuy et al. (2000) in the Danang
2007). Therefore, copper tends to accumulate in urban area of Vietnam and by Öborn and Linde (2001) in
areas. In fact, Drakonakis et al. (2007) have calculated the soils of Stockholm. Analogously, Imperato et al.
a stock of 144 kg per capita of Cu in the city of New (2003) found that oxidizable Cu was the major
Haven, USA. In Sydney central city, van Beers and fraction in the soils of Naples. Davidson et al.
Graedel (2007) estimated the copper stock to be (2006) chemically fractionated the soils of various
520 kg/capita. Copper, together with Zn, was reported European cities and confirmed the importance of the
to dominate (14 t/year) the transfer of metals to the oxidizable fraction for Cu—probably associated with
biosphere and sewage sludge in Stockholm, Sweden organic matter—together with residual forms in
(Bergbäck et al. 2001). Spatari et al. (2005) reported Ljubljana, Sevilla, Glasgow, and Turin. Lu et al.
that, in 1999, about 2,790 Gg of Cu were placed in (2003) reported 23% of total Cu of Nanjing soils to be
landfills in North America, and according to Bertram in the organic fraction and 66% in the residue.
et al. (2002), 2 kg of copper waste per capita are
produced every year in Europe. 2.3 Zinc
The average world soil content is 30 mg kg−1
(Adriano 2001). The majority of cities show a mean Various sources of zinc appear to concentrate in urban
or median soil content above this limit (Fig. 3). The areas. Apart from the metallurgic and galvanic
cities of Nigeria, Ibadan, and Abuja have very low industry and the usual sources of metal contamination
average content and the range of Cu in Lagos is 0.1– such as waste treatment and fuel burning, zinc is
2.9 mg kg−1. The highest average concentrations present in tires, batteries, electronic equipment
were recorded in Turin (90 mg kg−1), Honolulu (Dagan et al. 2007; Lincoln et al. 2007), and
(136 mg kg − 1 ), and Newcastle upon Tyne numerous alloy objects. In Sydney central city, van
(233 mg kg−1). High levels of Cu were measured in Beers and Graedel (2007) assessed the Zn stock to be
the soils of Bradford, UK (range, 35–173 mg kg−1), 420 kg/capita. A study in the city of Stockholm has
Moscow, Russia (99–197 mg kg−1), and Montreal (32– calculated an emission of 17 t/year from street
640 mg kg−1). Forty-seven cities have a maximum furniture, tires, and buildings (Palm and Ostlund
content which is above 120 mg kg−1, the limit for 1996). In the same city, 34 t Zn/year are reported to
remediation of residential areas in Italy (Ministero be transferred to the biosphere and sewage sludge
dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (Bergbäck et al. 2001).
2006). In particular, extremely high values were The average soil concentration is reported to be
observed in Avilés (1,040 mg kg−1), Richmond upon 50 mg kg−1 (Alloway 1995). Of the cities for which
Thames (1,130 mg kg−1), Stockholm (1,315 mg kg−1), the average or median Zn concentration is provided,
132 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Fig. 3 Cities where Cu soil data are available. In red are cities that have an average or median Cu concentration >30 mg kg−1, in
green are cities with average or median Cu <30 mg kg−1

only Ibadan and Aveiro have content below 50 mg kg−1. Among cities where no mean was calculated, very
The city of Lagos also has a very low range of Zn high ranges of Zn concentration are reported for
(0.5–3.4 mg kg−1). Data for Zn are summarized in Amman (166–410 mg kg−1), Bradford (173–576 mg
Fig. 4 where cities are subdivided according to the kg−1), Oslo (23–1,150 mg kg−1), Cincinnati (58–
limit of 140 mg kg−1, proposed by the Dutch Ministry 1,426 mg kg−1), Wroclaw (213–1,640 mg kg−1),
of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment Baoji (169–8,289 mg kg−1), and Calcutta (90–
(VROM—The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning 10,300 mg kg−1).
and Environment 2000) as a limit at which there is Exceedingly high contents of Zn were observed
sustainable soil quality. According to this grouping, 26 in a number of cities. Thirty of them have at least
cities have an average (or median) soil Zn content for one soil with a concentration above 720 mg kg−1, a
which, according to the Dutch limits, attention would level that, according to the Dutch limits, would
be recommended. require immediate remediation. Maximum concen-

Fig. 4 Cities where Zn soil data are available. In red are cities that have an average or median Zn concentration >140 mg kg−1, in
green are cities with average or median Zn <140 mg kg−1
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 133

tration was 1,109 mg kg−1 in Baltimore, 1,400 mg kg−1 Table 4 Cities that have average or median Cr and Ni
concentration in the topsoil above or below 40 and 20 mg kg−1,
in Koyang, 1,560 mg kg−1 in Tallin, 1,640 mg kg−1 in
respectively
Wroclaw, 1,660 mg kg−1 in Osnabrück, 1,810 mg kg−1
in Richmond upon Thames, 1,959 mg kg−1 in Avilés, City Country
2,368 mg kg−1 in Jakobstad, 2,550 mg kg−1 in Naples,
Cr≤40 mg kg−1
3,010 mg kg−1 in Celje, 4,625 mg kg−1 in Newcastle
Aberdeen UK
upon Tyne, 6,740 mg kg−1 in Wolverhampton, and as
Aveiro Portugal
much as 25,210 mg kg−1 in Berlin and 44,900 mg kg−1
Avilés Spain
in Gibraltar.
Bangkok Thailand
Overall, 27 cities have a minimum Zn content which
Berlin Germany
is above the average world soil content of 50 mg kg−1,
Calcutta India
and the cities of Amman, Baoji, Bradford, and
Celje Slovenia
Wroclaw show a minimum Zn above 140 mg kg−1.
Glasgow UK
Chemical speciation of Zn in the soils of Honolulu,
Hong Kong China
USA (Sutherland and Tack 2000) revealed that about Jakobstad Finland
60% of the metal was in the residual fraction and La Coruña Spain
similar results were obtained for the soils of Nanjing, Ljubljana Slovenia
China (Lu et al. 2003). On the contrary, Öborn and Mieres Spain
Linde (2001) found that Zn was mainly contained in Naples Italy
the easily extractable fraction of two urban soils of New Orleans USA
Stockholm and analogous results were obtained by Palermo Italy
Chon et al. (1998) in cities around Seoul, Korea. Seville Spain
Norrström and Jacks (1998) found that Zn in roadside Stockholm Sweden
soils was mainly in the oxide fraction. More recently, Tallinn Estonia
zinc was found in all four sequential extracts in the Turku Finland
soils of Aveiro, Glasgow, Ljubljana, Sevilla, and Uijeongbu Korea
Turin (Davidson et al. 2006). Uppsala Sweden
Physical separation of the soils of Xuzhou (Wang et Warsaw Poland
al. 2006) revealed that Zn accumulated in the <45 µm Wroclaw Poland
fraction. Ajmone-Marsan et al. (2007) found the high- Cr>40 mg kg−1
est Zn concentrations in the <10 µm fraction of the Addis Ababa Ethiopia
soils of Aveiro, Glasgow, Ljubljana, Sevilla, and Turin. Antalya Turkey
Baltimore USA
2.4 Chromium Baoji China
Cincinnati USA
Sources of chromium in urban areas are mainly the Damascus Syria
metallurgic and galvanic industry as it is employed as Danang Vietnam
an alloy constituent to impart corrosion resistance. Detroit USA
Dyes and paints can also contain chromium. Emission Ermoupolus Greece
to the atmosphere may come from motor vehicle Fuhis Jordan
exhaust, waste incineration, and combustion of oil Gaborone Botswana
and coal. Frequently, however, Cr derives from the Gibraltar UK
lithogenic substrate. Soils developed from ultramafic Ibadan Nigeria
rocks and especially serpentinites often have a high Izmit Turkey
content of chromium (Adriano 2001). Koyang Korea
Table 4 shows the cities where the average (or Madrid Spain
median) Cr soil content is below or above 40 mg kg−1, a Mexico City Mexico
commonly observed value in soils (Adriano 2001). The Nanjing China
lowest overall values are found in New Orleans (range, Newcastle u.T. UK
134 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Table 4 (continued) Table 4 (continued)

City Country City Country

Oslo Norway Mexico City Mexico

Ottawa Canada Mieres Spain
Turin Italy Newcastle u.T. UK
Xi'an China Oslo Norway
Xuzhou China Seville Spain
Ni≤20 mg kg−1 Turin Italy
Aberdeen UK Uijeongbu Korea
Abuja Nigeria Wroclaw Poland
Aveiro Portugal Xuzhou China
Avilés Spain Zagreb Croatia
Berlin Germany
Detroit USA
Hong Kong China
Izmit gulf Turkey 0.1–7 mg kg−1), Aveiro (6–15 mg kg−1), and Wroclaw
Jakobstad Finland (4–17 mg kg−1). The soils of Naples have a low average
Madrid Spain (11 mg kg−1), but the maximum is 73 mg kg−1.
New Orleans USA
Where comparison is possible between urban soils
Ottawa Canada
and other supposedly noncontaminated soils, an
Palermo Italy
increase is observed in the former. In Danang,
Seville Spain
123 mg kg−1 is found in industrial soils, while only
Stockholm Sweden
57 mg kg−1 in their arable counterparts. Similarly, in
Tallinn Estonia
Detroit, 55 mg kg−1 is measured in the average
Turku Finland
industrial soil and 31 mg kg−1 in the residential area.
Uppsala Sweden
In contrast, crop soils of Gaborone have a higher Cr
Ni>20 mg kg−1
content (136 mg kg−1) than the city center soils
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
(72 mg kg−1). The high spatial variability of soil
Amman Jordan
properties in urban areas imposes, however, a prudent
Antalya Turkey
approach at the interpretation of these differences.
Baltimore USA
In some cities, the major contribution to soil Cr
Bangkok Thailand
appears to be from the ultramafic rock substrate. This
Baoji China
is the case of Turin for which a median value of
Beijing China
233 mg kg−1 was reported (Biasioli et al. 2007) and a
Calcutta India
maximum value of 870 mg kg−1 in the stable surface
Celje Slovenia
of an ancient garden (Biasioli et al. 2006). Minimum
Cincinnati USA
value was also as high as 64 mg kg−1. In that city,
Damascus Syria
however, contamination from anthropogenic sources
Danang Vietnam
could not be excluded as metallurgic and galvanic
Detroit USA
industries were common in the area during the last
Gaborone Botswana
century. A lithogenic contribution is also advocated to
Gibraltar UK
Glasgow UK
explain the average 190 mg kg−1 of Cr in the city of
Honolulu USA
Antalya, Turkey although an anthropogenic addition
Izmit Turkey
could not be excluded. Similarly, the maximum
Koyang Korea
concentration of 1,445 mg kg−1 in the soils of
La Coruña Spain
Gibraltar was explained as an influence of the
Ljubljana Slovenia
underlying geology. The weathering of the volcanic
rock substrate was also indicated as the cause for the
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 135

high values of Cr in the soils of Addis Ababa (range, elevated amounts in the coarse fractions of the soils
50–269 mg kg−1). The high contents found in of Turin (Ajmone-Marsan et al. 2007) and was
Baltimore soils, maximum of 794 mg kg−1, have classified as lithophile in the soils of Xuzhou by
been attributed to the parent material of mafic and Wang et al. (2006). Accordingly, chemical fraction-
ultramafic rock rich in Cr. ation produced results similar to those obtained for Cr
Chemical or physical fractionation of the soil can (Davidson et al. 2006).
help in assessing the threat posed by Cr in the soil.
Ajmone-Marsan et al. (2007) found that, contrary to 2.6 Cadmium
other elements, Cr did not accumulate in the finest
size fraction in the soils of Turin and Glasgow. In There are several sources of accumulation of Cd in
Nanjing, Lu et al. (2003) found that more than 90% of urban environments. In fact, the majority of cadmium
the total Cr was in the residual chemical fraction. extracted in the world is used in the production of Ni–
Similar results were also obtained by Wang et al. Cd batteries, the rest being used for coating and
(2006) in the urban roadside soils of Xuzhou. These plating, in pigments, and in plastics. Cadmium is also
results would imply that soil Cr would be, in most used in the production of automobile radiators, in
cases, scarcely bioavailable. Sequential chemical electronics component manufacture, and in photogra-
fractionation carried out on the soils of five cities in phy. It is a component of tires, petrol, diesel fuel, and
Europe (Davidson et al. 2006) confirmed that Cr is lubricating oils.
prevalent in the residual, nonlabile fraction. Adriano (2001) reports an average Cd content in
soils of 0.30 mg kg−1. Only nine cities have an
2.5 Nickel average concentration below this limit (Table 5),
although in Richmond upon Thames, a maximum of
This element is often found in mafic and ultramafic 11.1 mg kg−1 is recorded. The cities of Antalya,
rocks together with Cr and Co, so these elements Avilés, Baltimore, Celje, Detroit, Fuhis, Gaborone,
have, in general, a similar distribution. Lithogenic Hong Kong, Koyang, Mieres, New Orleans, Pueblo,
contribution appears to be a major source of Ni in Turin, and Uijeongbu all have an average Cd content
those cities where the substrate contains significant which is above the limit of 1 mg kg−1 established as a
proportions of serpentinites. Nickel is used in a Soil Guideline Value for residential areas and allot-
variety of industrial and consumer products and the ments by the UK Environment Agency (2002).
metal-processing industry, mostly stainless steel mak- Wide ranges in Cd content were recorded in Athens
ing, coinage, and special alloys, and the burning of (0.3–2.0 mg kg−1), Wroclaw (0.7–2.6 mg kg−1), Oslo
fossil fuels have added to the total concentration of Ni (0.06–3.1 mg kg−1), Ibadan (0.18–2.7 mg kg−1),
in city soils (Adriano 2001). Pforzheim (0–4.5 mg kg−1), and Hong Kong (0.02–
The cities are grouped in Table 4 assuming a world 5.9 mg kg−1; Li et al. 2001).
mean of 20 mg kg−1 (Adriano 2001). Particularly low An extremely high Cd contamination was detected
mean or median values are reported for the cities of in Celje (21.4 mg kg−1), around Auby (31.4 mg kg−1),
New Orleans (8 mg kg−1), Berlin (11 mg kg−1), and Berlin (54 mg kg−1), Wolverhampton (54.7 mg kg−1),
Aveiro (11 mg kg−1) and the Scandinavian cities of Gibraltar (318 mg kg−1), and up to an extreme value
Jakobstad (8 mg kg−1), Turku (12 mg kg−1), Stockholm of 833 mg kg−1 recorded in Calcutta due to the
(13 mg kg−1), and Uppsala (19 mg kg−1). The highest smelting activities scattered throughout the city.
mean or median values of Ni parallel those of Cr. Turin Cadmium is generally found in labile chemical
and Honolulu show Ni content above 200 mg kg−1 due fractions. In Hong Kong (Li et al. 2001), more than
to the contribution of the lithological substrate. High 50% of the total Cd was found to be in the
maxima are reported also for Gibraltar (648 mg kg−1), exchangeable phase and similar results were obtained
the inner city of Berlin (769 mg kg−1), and Baltimore in Bangkok by Wilcke et al. (1998). In two soils in
(336 mg kg−1). Stockholm, Cd was mainly recovered from easily
Being often associated with Cr in minerals, Ni exchangeable fractions (Öborn and Linde 2001) and
follows the same pattern of accumulation in the Yang et al. (2006) found from 35% to 50% of total Cd
chemical or physical fractions. It was found in extracted by acetic acid.
136 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

Table 5 Average or median Cd concentration in the topsoil of 2.7 Mercury

city soils

City Country Cd (mg kg−1) Compared to other elements, data on soil mercury are
limited, particularly for urban areas. Smelting of copper
Cd≤0.30 mgkg−1 and zinc, coal combustion and waste incineration, and
Addis Ababa Ethiopia 0.13 industrial processes such as the production of chlorine
Bangkok Thailand 0.29 and sodium hydroxide are the most important anthro-
Jakobstad Finland 0.25 pogenic activities that can release Hg in the urban
La Coruña Spain 0.30 environment. Mercury is also released from goods like
Ottawa Canada 0.30 fluorescent lamps, dental amalgams, thermometers,
Richmond u.T. UK <0.20 thermostats, electrical switches, pressure sensing devi-
Turku Finland 0.20 ces, and blood pressure reading devices. As a conse-
Uppsala Sweden 0.21 quence, urban areas are, together with mining areas, the
Valladolid Spain 0.28 most obvious place of Hg accumulation in the soil.
Cd>0.30 mg kg−1 The world soil average content is reported to be
Aberdeen UK 0.41 60 µg kg−1 (Adriano 2001). Due to its high toxicity,
Abuja Nigeria 0.60 the legislative limits for clean soils are lower than for
Antalya Turkey 1.33 all other elements. The Dutch list (VROM—The
Avilés Spain 2.16 Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment
Baltimore USA 1.06 2000) considers an optimum level at 0.3 mg kg−1 and
Berlin Germany 0.92 an intervention level at 10 mg kg−1. The Soil Guideline
Celje Slovenia 2.50 Values (Environment Agency 2002) fix a 8-mg kg−1
Danang Vietnam 0.60 limit for residential areas and allotments of the UK
Detroit USA 1.10 and, in Italy, 1 mg kg−1 is the maximum tolerable
Fuhis Jordan 5.00
concentration for residential areas (Ministero dell'Am-
Gaborone Botswana 1.60
biente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare 2006).
The soils of numerous cities are worthy of
Gibraltar UK 0.80
attention as having a Hg concentration above the
Hong Kong China 1.22
limit of the Dutch list (Table 6). Glasgow and
Koyang Korea 2.10
Fuhis, a city in the suburbs of Amman, have an
Mieres Spain 1.45
average content above 1 mg kg−1 and the city of
Naples Italy 0.60
Mieres, in northern Spain, shows an average con-
New Orleans USA 2.40
centration of 4.24 mg kg−1 and a maximum of
Newcastle u.T. UK 0.65
25.0 mg kg−1 as a consequence of mining activities
Osnabrück Germany 0.60
in the surroundings. In Berlin, up to 71.2 mg kg−1
Palermo Italy 0.68
are detected in industrial areas but more concern
Pueblo USA 2.53 should be reserved to the 0.42 mg kg −1 that
Salamanca Spain 0.41 represents the average of 2,182 soil samples. High
Stockholm Sweden 0.40 maximum contents were also reported for Wroclaw
Turin Italy 1.30 (4.0 mg kg−1), Turin (4.4 mg kg−1), Newcastle upon
Uijeongbu Korea 1.40 Tyne (5.0 mg kg−1), Stockholm (6.5 mg kg−1), and
Warsaw Poland 1.00 Palermo (7.0 mg kg−1).
Wolverhampton UK 0.80
Xuzhou China 0.54 2.8 Arsenic
Zagreb Croatia 0.66
The main source of As in soils is the parent material
but its accumulation in urban environments is most
often due to fossil fuel combustion, especially coal,
metal-processing industries, and mining activities.
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 137

Table 6 Average or median Hg concentration in the topsoil of Table 7 Average or median As concentration in the topsoil of
city soils city soils

City Country Hg (mg kg−1) City Country As (mg kg−1)

Hg≤0.30 mg kg−1 As≤10 mg kg−1

Amursk Russia 0.182 Beijing China 9.7
Aveiro Portugal 0.091 Berlin Germany 5.1
Changchun China 0.146 Celje Slovenia 6.4
Detroit USA 0.080 Detroit USA 6.3
Jakobstad Finland 0.093 Gainesville USA 0.73
Khabarovsk Russia 0.103 Gibraltar UK 9.6
Oslo Norway 0.130 Jakobstad Finland 2.7
Ottawa Canada 0.107 Miami USA 4.0
Pueblo USA 0.070 Ottawa Canada 3.0
Seville Spain 0.300 Stockholm Sweden 6.1
Tuscaloosa USA 0.028 Turku Finland 3.2
Uppsala Sweden 0.025 Uppsala Sweden 3.5
Xuzhou China 0.290 Xi'an China 9.78
Hg>0.30 mg kg−1 As>10 mg kg−1
Aviles Spain 0.570 Avilés Spain 20.9
Berlin Germany 0.420 Mieres Spain 134.58
Celje Slovenia 0.320 Newcastle u.T. UK 20
Fuhis Jordan 1.81 Pueblo USA 12.6
Glasgow UK 1.20 Turin Italy 11
Ljubljana Slovenia 0.38 Xuzhou China 39.8
Mieres Spain 4.24
Newcastle u.T. UK 0.50
Palermo Italy 0.68
The lowest average, 0.7 mg kg−1, is recorded in
Stockholm Sweden 0.59
Gainesville, but the maximum in this city is as high as
Turin Italy 0.90
660 mg kg−1. In Moscow, the As concentration in
Wroclaw Poland 1.791
soils was measured to range from 8 to 25 mg kg−1,
Xi'an China 0.429
similar to what was found in Pforzheim. In Oslo, a
range between 3.0 and 69.6 mg kg−1 was observed.
The range in Turin (8–21 mg kg−1), Beijing
Long-term exposure is known to cause various types (5.7–23 mg kg−1), and São Paulo (7–26 mg kg−1) is
of cancer so it represents a serious cause of concern. remarkably high and it is even wider in Avilés
Nevertheless, the information on As is scarce, having (4.5–117 mg kg−1) and Newcastle upon Tyne (5–
been monitored in only 18 cities in recent years. 279 mg kg−1). These cities have a considerable
Uncontaminated soils are reported to have <10 mg industrial history.
kg−1 of As (Adriano 2001) and cities are grouped in Extreme values were reported for Xuzhou where the
Table 7 according to this limit. The limit for maximum value for As was 577 mg kg−1. In the soils of
contamination or guideline value is set at 20 mg kg−1 the residential areas of Mieres, up to 961 mg kg−1
by the Italian legislation (Ministero dell'Ambiente e were measured and ascribed to the mining activities
della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare 2006) and by the in the surrounding area. Soils of Gibraltar have a
Environment Agency (2002). The Dutch list maximum of 1,351 mg kg−1 in “civilian” areas.
(VROM—The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning Calcutta soils, due to intense smelting activities,
and Environment 2000) considers 29 mg kg−1 as the appear to be the most contaminated with As ranging
threshold for attention. from 17.5 to 9,740 mg kg−1.
138 Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143

2.9 Platinum Group Elements 3 Concluding Remarks

In recent years, platinum, palladium, and rhodium, A large number of studies have been examined to
collectively known as platinum group elements investigate the current situation of urban soil
(PGE), have raised the attention of environmental contamination by metals and metalloids and thereby
scientists as they are growing as new metallic explore opportunities and needs for a methodolog-
pollutants. They are in fact used in catalytic ical harmonization. In view of the high value of the
converters on automobile exhausts which are being urban soil as an environmental resource and the
increasingly employed with the phasing out of threat to human health it poses, it is highly
leaded gasoline and PGE are thus starting to desirable that an effort towards harmonization of
accumulate in the environment. This would be the methodologies is made so that the issue of
more pronounced in urban areas due to the urban soil contamination can be tackled at the
concentration of traffic. However, little information global level. Trace elements appear to be good
is available. Studies have been so far conducted indicators of environmental quality of the urban
along roads or highways (e.g., Tankari Dan-Badjo soils and deserve to be taken into consideration in
et al. 2007) in an attempt to find a relationship with urban planning procedures to ensure that the soils
traffic volumes. Available data, however, show a can exert their ecological functions and do not
contrasting situation. constitute a threat for the health of the citizens.
The soils of South Bend show low contents of Among the contaminants considered in this review,
PGE (Pt, 11–66 µg kg−1; Pd, 2–19 µg kg−1; Rh, 0– Pb resulted to be an issue in the vast majority of the
4 µg kg−1), as well as those from Xuzhou (Pt, 1– cities that have been studied, although its source is
4.7 µg kg−1; Pd, 1.1–3.7 µg kg−1). Data for Mexico being phased out thus confirming to be a scarcely
City soils reveal ranges of 2–333, 3–101, and 1– mobile element in soil. It is probably the best metal
39 µg kg−1 for Pt, Pd, and Rh, respectively. In Perth, indicator of the presence of an urban settlement so
along various roads in the city, Pt was found to range that it could be used to define the territorial influence
from 31 to 153 µg kg−1, palladium from 14 to of an urban agglomeration instead of its administra-
108 µg kg−1, and rhodium from 3 to 27 µg kg−1. tive limits (Pouyat et al. 2007).
Similar concentrations of palladium (8–110 µg kg−1) Copper, Zn, Ni, and Cr have also been found at
but much lower platinum (2–52 µg kg−1) were high levels in many cities, especially where metallur-
measured in flower beds in Naples, while in Rome, gical industry is present. Arsenic and other very toxic
the average Pt content was 11.2 µg kg−1. In Athens, elements such as Cd and Hg have received less
34–216 µg kg−1 of Pt and 20.3–185 µg kg−1 of Pd attention, most probably for analytical constraints,
were measured (Riga-Karandinos et al. 2006). although they appear to be a cause of concern in
Much higher concentrations of Pt, 8–606 µg kg−1, many places.
and Pd, 8–1,050 µg kg−1, were measured in the Emerging contaminants such as PGE should be
soils of Sheffield. On the contrary, much lower monitored to identify accumulation spots and react
contents were reported for the soils of Xuzhou timely.
where Pt averages 2.5 µg kg−1 and Pd 2.3 µg kg−1. In many cases, concentrations of metals and
In Braunschweig, as much as 261 µg kg−1 Pt, metalloids are well above legislation limits, although
124 µg kg −1 Pd, and 38.9 µg kg −1 Rh were not very often these limits are available and reference
observed in the soils along a street in the center of has to be made to regulations from different countries
the city (Wichmann et al. 2007). A study of road or for different land uses. The variety of land uses that
dust in Honolulu revealed an average Pt content of were sampled, number and depth of sampling, sample
70.2 µg kg−1, Pd of 17.7 µg kg−1, and Rh of treatments, and analytical techniques all contribute to
6.23 µg kg−1. Studies conducted along highways or the high data variability. In addition, inherent soil and
high traffic roads outside urban areas in Austria geological substrate spatial variability and the unpre-
(Fritsche and Meisel 2004) and Brazil (Morcelli et dictable human intervention hamper an efficient use
al. 2005) confirm an input from automobile of the results in terms of remediation, mitigation, or
exhausts. prevention actions.
Water Air Soil Pollut (2010) 213:121–143 139

It is then urgent that action is taken toward the Aksoy, A., Hale, W. H. G., & Dixon, J. M. (1999). Capsella
harmonization of the investigation technique. A sam- bursa-pastoris (L.), Medic. as a biomonitor of heavy
metals. Science of the Total Environment, 226, 177–186.
pling design that is adapted to local urban patterns, a Al-Chalabi, A. S., & Hawker, D. (2000). Distribution of
prescribed sampling depth, and a minimum set of vehicular lead in roadside soils of major roads of Brisbane,
elements that deserve to be measured could be the core Australia. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 118, 299–310.
of a common methodology. The results of this study Alemayehu, T. (2006). Heavy metal concentration in the urban
environment of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Soil and Sediment
demonstrate in fact that urban areas are often more Contamination, 15, 591–602.
similar among them in terms of contamination regardless Alexandrovskaya, E. I., & Alexandrovskiy, A. L. (2000).
of geographical location, geological substrate, and size History of the cultural layer in Moscow and accumulation
of population. This is obvious in view of the presence of of anthropogenic substances in it. Catena, 41, 249–259.
Al-Khashman, O. A. (2007). Determination of metal accumu-
similar sources of pollution, i.e., traffic, waste disposal lation in deposited street dusts in Amman, Jordan.
and, less frequently, heating and industrial activity. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 29, 1–10.
A few hints can be proposed to make the data Alloway, B. J. (1995). Heavy metals in soils. UK: Chapman &
comparable with results from the literature. Based on Hall.
Angelone, M., Masi, U., & Cremisini, C. (2002). Platinum
the methodological approaches used in the majority of levels in natural and urban soils from Rome and Latium
the studies, sampling depths should ideally be 0– (Italy): Significance for pollution by automobile catalytic
10 cm, different urban land uses should be studied converter. Science of the Total Environment, 293, 47–57.
(e.g., roadsides, parks, etc.), sampling locations Awofolu, O. R. (2005). A survey of trace metals in vegetation,
soil and lower animal along some selected major roads in
should always be georeferenced to allow accurate metropolitan city of Lagos. Environmental Monitoring and
handling of data and make resampling of the sites Assessment, 105, 431–447.
possible, standard analytical procedures (e.g., Interna- Banat, K. M., Howari, F. M., & Al-Hamad, A. A. (2005).
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worry about their environmental risks? Environmental
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adoption of certified reference materials. Whenever metal flows—A case study of Stockholm. Review and
feasible, together with analyses of contaminants, some conclusions. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. Focus, 1, 3–24.
Bertram, M., Graedel, T. E., Rechberger, H., & Spatari, S. (2002).
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Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and PGE could ment subsystem. Ecological Economics, 42, 43–57.
well be included in a set of elements that are measured Biasioli, M., & Ajmone-Marsan, F. (2007). Organic and
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properties that would influence the health risk for the Biasioli, M., Barberis, R., & Ajmone-Marsan, F. (2006). The
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Very often, a feasible solution for remediation of content. Science of the Total Environment, 356, 154–164.
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