Contaminants in Roadside Soils: International Studies

The pollution emitted by traffic activities and road maintenance is an area of great interest as contaminants can be transported to roadside sediments and pose a risk to environmental and human health. In the present work, deposited pollution in roadside sediments has been assessed by sampling along a highly traveled highway in Barcelona and the surrounding area. (2008)

The review primarily concerns palladium, platinum, rhodium, antimony, lead, cadmium, cobalt, copper, chromium and zinc but also cerium, iridium, iron, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, thallium, tin, vanadium, bismuth and tungsten. Gaps in knowledge have been identified. (2005)

In July 1997, an inquiry has been sent to all PIARC member countries. It dealt with the five major topics identified by the Working Group: soil and water protection; how to deal with contaminated land; recycling of used materials; how to take account of flora; archaeology; water and noise; and work sites. (2000)

A physical model of ground-level mathematical distribution was developed for determining pollutant dispersion peculiarities on freeways. Correlation of Lithuanian and foreign studies of ultrafine particles and transition metal measurements data was used for model reasoning. (2007)

This review provides a summary of studies analysing metal concentrations in soils and soil solution at European roadsides. The data collected during 27 studies covering a total of 64 sites across a number of European countries were summarised. (2014)

The concentrations of lead, copper, cadmium, zinc, nickel and chromium were measured in road dust and roadside soils from a French major highway. The profiles of total levels in the soil as a function of distance from the road edge and as a function of depth were investigated. 2001

A total of 96 street dusts and 96 roadside soils have been sampled from three different localities (urban, industrial, peripheral) of the city of Kavala (Greece) and analyzed for Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, As and Hg using the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Results showed that dust and soil samples from the urban and industrial area contained significant levels of the metals studied compared to the values from the control site. 2009

Concentrations of Pt, Pd, Rh and Au in soils and road dusts taken from areas of high and low traffic flows in the London Borough of Richmond and from a section of the Kingston bypass (A3) at New Malden, Surrey, have been measured. High concentrations of platinum are associated with high traffic densities. 1996

Results are presented for a study of spatial distributions and temporal trends in concentrations of lead (Pb) from different sources in soil and vegetation of an arable farm in central Scotland in the decade since the use of leaded petrol was terminated. 2011

Automobile traffic pollutes roadside environments with a range of contaminants. In this study, we investigate the distribution patterns of different contaminant classes in topsoils across a highway-forest interface north-east of Vienna, Austria, in order to assess spatial pollutant distribution and evaluate the filtering effect of roadside forests. 2009

A study has been conducted of the concentrations of a range of inorganic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during a winter period at a roadside location in Birmingham, UK. Particle number and NOx concentrations were also determined continuously during the study. 2003

A soil survey was performed to determine the levels, distributions and sources of 6 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 9 selected soil environments in Esbjerg, Denmark. 2011

Trace elements typically occur at low concentrations (≤0.1%) in the environment. However, many trace elements are found at elevated concentrations as a result of human activities. Contaminated areas include cities where populations are exposed to contaminants . 2010

The multielement content of vegetation, surface soil and dust samples collected along the M1, M6 and M25 motorways and analysed by inductively coupled plasma-source mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is presented. 1990

Results are presented from a study of the distribution of heavy metals in street dusts of two cities in Midland England. The first (Birmingham) is a large urban area (population of 2.3 million), the second, Coventry, a small one (population of 0.3 million). 2003

Urban soils differ from the rural ones by the fact that they are more strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities. This influence is often reflected by a high degree of contamination. To investigate the influence a large city can have on its soils and on the surrounding ones, samples within the city of Torino, Italy were compared with a set of surrounding soils developed from the same alluvial parent material. 2006

Summarizes a number of research reports on the micro pollution, mainly caused by road traffic, along motorways in the Netherlands. Micro pollution implies pollution of the soil, surface water, and groundwater by micro contaminants such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). (1995)

This paper aims to analyse metal leaching in a highway embankment using both field and laboratory experiments. Soil, soil solution and road runoff were collected along one of the oldest highways in the world to characterize leaching of the metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. 2014

The concentrations of particulate matter, PM2.5, PM10, and TSP at an urban roadside and an urban background station are analyzed. Data collected over a 10 year period are analyzed. (2010)

Heavy metal levels and sources of contamination were investigated in different roadside locations from Ankara and Bursa metropolitan cities in Turkey. (2014)

An intensive investigation was conducted to study the distribution of trace metals in surface soils of Hong Kong and to assess the soil environmental quality. In general, trace metal pollution in soils of the industrial areas and Pb pollution in the soils of the commercial and residential areas were obvious. 1997

The present study was conducted along three major highways namely State Highway (SH49), National Highway (NH66 and 45A) connecting Puducherry (India) for assessing heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbon contamination from surface soils in close proximity at a depth of 0–15 cm into automobile repair workshops and agricultural fields located beside the highways. (2014)

Due to rapid urbanisation and scarcity of land, most of the urban parks and recreational areas in Hong Kong are built close to major roads or industrial areas, where they are subject to many potential pollution sources, including vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. An extensive soil survey was conducted in urban parks of Hong Kong to study the current conditions of heavy metals contamination in soils. 2001

The urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. Due to the continuous urbanisation and industrialisation in many parts of the world, metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat on human health. 2006

This study identified the levels and sources of heavy metal contamination in road dust from busy traffic areas in a typical industrial city in Korea. 2011

This study investigated the spatial distribution of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) in roadside topsoil in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and evaluated the potential environmental reisks of these roadside heavy metals due to traffic emissions. 2013

Distribution, composition profiles and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were evaluated in roadside soils from Delhi, India. 2012