LEAD (Pb) CONCENTRATIONS IN SOIL OF TUZLA'S URBAN AREA

The paper presents the results of the geochemical-pedological researches based on the lead concentrations in soil of the Tuzla's urban area. The main goal of the research was to determine to what extent, the urban area of Tuzla was contaminated by lead and to determine the pollutant origin. The 129 soil samples were collected in situ on the of area about 100 km2. The testing of the lead concentration in soil samples was performed by mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with detection range of 0.02 to 10.000 ppm. The exceeding of the maximum permissible concentrations of lead (as defined by the „Pravilnik o utvrđivanju dozvoljenih kolicina stetnih i opasnih tvari u zemljistu i metode njihovog ispitivanja“), was recorded in eight soil samples (samples 108, 170, 171, 182, 187, 189, 195 and 244), 6.20% of the total analyzed. The exceeded lead concentrations range from 114.0 - 190.82 ppm and the average value is 146.72 ppm. The concentration of lead in the soil, which is within the limits of the doses, ranges from 14.14 to 60.74 ppm, and the mean value is 33.68 ppm. Locations of elevated lead concentrations are closely related to the main road, resulting that the contamination is the result of the anthropogenic activities.