Residential and non-residential areas within ~ 10 km of a secondary lead smelting site operating since the 1930’s have been investigated in order to determine the relative importance of secondary lead smelting vs. other common urban pollutant sources of Pb in local environmental soils. The central hypothesis being tested is as follows: lead originating from secondary lead smelting will also contribute Sb as a highly correlated concomitant; however, lead from other urban sources (e.g., paint, gasoline) will lack Sb. After preliminary studies revealed a strong Sb:Pb correlation with a slope of ~ 0.1 for soils from undisturbed locations very close to the smelter, we commenced a sampling effort, obtaining soil cores (5.2 cm diameter, 30 cm depth) from a range of locations with reasonable variation in distance/direction and land use. Soil cores were sectioned into 0-5, 5-10 and &gt; 10 cm intervals. Core intervals were dried, ground, and digested using an HNO3-HF-H3BO3 procedure. The element Pb was determined by both flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS); Sb concentrations were determined by ICPMS. The results will be presented and interpreted, both in terms of how the Pb concentrations imply any health risks associated with elevated soil Pb, and as to how the Sb:Pb relationships observed support the hypothesis about impact and contributions from secondary lead smelting.

Investigating lead sources near a secondary lead smelting site: Using antimony as a pathfinder element

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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