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Traffic-Related Pollutants in Roadside Soils of Different Countries in Europe and Asia

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Abstract

We investigated the magnetic and chemical properties of the roadside soil samples collected from five European and Asian countries. Spots in which cars slowed down and/or accelerated due to the traffic organization (speed limits, junctions, and traffic lights) were selected for sampling. Apart from the Zabrze site (Poland), the magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal contents decreased with increasing distance from the road edge. The highest mass-specific magnetic susceptibility values (χ) were observed in the samples collected from Mumbai (India) and Zabrze (Poland). Moreover, the high contents of Fe, Ni, Mn, and Co were observed in Mumbai, whereas in Zabrze, all the examined elements demonstrated high contents, except for Co. Analyses revealed that magnetite was the main magnetic mineral in the roadside soil samples. The high correlation coefficients (r = 0.87) between the magnetic susceptibility values and the total Fe content demonstrated that Fe occurred mainly as ferrimagnetic particles of technogenic origin resulting from traffic emissions. The traffic origin of the pollutants was also confirmed by the increased contents of the typically anthropogenic metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu) and a good correlation (r = 0.83) between the Ti and Mo contents, which do not occur in natural associations. The ratio between particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and high content of PAHs typical for car exhaust also implied traffic as their main source.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and National Science Centre in collaboration with the German Research Foundation under scientific project no. 676/N-DFG/2010/0 entitled “Characteristics of current roadside pollution under different environmental conditions – fundamentals for the development of a new roadside pollution monitoring concept”. The authors thank the professional ProofreadingServices.com for language corrections. We appreciate the constructive comments by an anonymous reviewer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Sklodowskiej-Curie 34, 41-819, Zabrze, Poland

    Małgorzata Wawer & Tadeusz Magiera

  2. Department of Land Protection, University of Opole, Oleska 22, 45-052, Opole, Poland

    Tadeusz Magiera & Grzegorz Kusza

  3. Geophysics, Department of Geosciences, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Sigwartstrasse 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Gobinda Ojha & Erwin Appel

  4. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Shouyun Hu

  5. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai, India

    Nathani Basavaiah

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  1. Małgorzata Wawer
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  2. Tadeusz Magiera
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  3. Gobinda Ojha
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Correspondence to Małgorzata Wawer.

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Wawer, M., Magiera, T., Ojha, G. et al. Traffic-Related Pollutants in Roadside Soils of Different Countries in Europe and Asia. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 216 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2483-6

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