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4856036 
Journal Article 
Maps of heavy metals in the soils of the European Union and proposed priority areas for detailed assessment 
Tóth, G; Hermann, T; Szatmári, G; Pásztor, L 
2016 
1 
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN: 0048-9697
EISSN: 1879-1026 
Elsevier B.V., P.O. Box 211 Amsterdam 1000 AE Netherlands 
565 
1054-1062 
English 
27261421 
WOS:000378206300110 
Soil contamination is one of the greatest concerns among the threats to soil resources in Europe and globally. Despite of its importance there was only very course scale (1/5000km(2)) data available on soil heavy metal concentrations prior to the LUCAS topsoil survey, which had a sampling density of 200km(2). Based on the results of the LUCAS sampling and auxiliary information detailed and up-to-date maps of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn, Sb, Co and Ni) in the topsoil of the European Union were produced. Using the maps of heavy metal concentration in topsoil we made a spatial prediction of areas where local assessment is suggested to monitor and eventually control the potential threat from heavy metals. Most of the examined elements remain under the corresponding threshold values in the majority of the land of the EU. However, one or more of the elements exceed the applied threshold concentration on 1.2Mkm(2), which is 28.3% of the total surface area of the EU. While natural backgrounds might be the reason for high concentrations on large proportion of the affected soils, historical and recent industrial and mining areas show elevated concentrations (predominantly of As, Cd, Pb and Hg) too, indicating the magnitude of anthropogenic effect on soil quality in Europe. 
ANE, Europe; Soil pollution; Soil; Chromium; Heavy metals; Surface area; Zinc; Cadmium; Copper; Sampling; Maps; Lead; Metals; Historical account; Spatial distribution; Anthropogenic factors; Soil contamination; Metal concentrations; Priorities