The risk scale estimation of the agricultural environment pollution by heavy metals using the sequential extraction method

From among various industrial contaminants which can pollute agricultural environment, heavy metals having the capacity of bioaccumulation deserve special attention. The total composition analysis of the heavy metals content in the polluted soils does not provide enough data about their accessibility to the crops cultivated on these soils. It is very important to have the information about the forms in which the examined element exists, because it decides about its mobility and toxicity for the environment. Using the sequential chemical extraction method of Zeien and Brümmer the fractions of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and As in the soils influenced by emissions from the Copper Smelter GŁOGÓW, were investigated. The aim of these investigations was to determine the availability assessment of the mentioned elements to the crops cultivated in this region.