Mercury Content in Upper Layers of Soils from the Areas with Various Impacts of Anthropogenic Pressure

The aim of the conducted research was to determine the mercury content in the upper layers of soil taken from the areas with various impact of anthropogenic pressure. The article presents the content of mercury in the top layers of soils from selected areas of two districts of Warsaw, ie Ursynów and Mokotów. These areas are heavily influenced by the human activity. For comparison, a soil sample was also taken from the area of the Solska Forest, which is an example of an area with a negligible impact of anthropogenic pressure. The mercury content in the analyzed soil samples taken from the area of Warsaw ranged from 0.0334 mg·kg-1 to 0.4004 mg·kg-1 in Ursynów, while the soils from the Mokotów area contained from 0.2320 mg·kg-1 to 1.3098 mg·kg-1. For comparison, the sample from the Solska Forest area contained 0.2544 mg Hg·kg-1. In order to avoid uncontrolled re-emission and, as a consequence, possible accumulation of this element in the environment, it is necessary to continue monitoring the level of mercury pollution, among others, in soil.