Relationships between Levels of Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, and Copper in Soil and Settleable Particulate Matter in Cartagena (Spain)

In this article we report the relationships between heavy metals(Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu) in soil and settleable particulate matter usingdata from 6 yr at six different sampling points withinCartagena, a Spanish Mediterranean city. The use of enrichmentfactors and factor analysis allowed us to predict the majorsources of these metals. Soils were classified as one of threetypes: soils from polluted zone L, soils from polluted zone Z,and non-polluted soils. Settleable particulate matter was alsoclassified in the following three groups: Industrial zone, Urbanzone, and Intermediate zone. Enrichment factors showed that soilsfrom polluted zone L are enriched in Pb and Cd when compared with soils from polluted zone Z, and soils from polluted zone Zare enriched in Zn and Cu when compared with soils from pollutedzone L. In this context, soils from polluted zones L and Z areidentified as specific sources of metals in the settleableparticulate matter samples. We also suggest the importance ofanthopogenic contribution of metals to soil-enrichment fromancient times up to the present. This process was most severeduring the XIX century, when our city suffered an importantindustrial development. The concentration of these heavy metalsare also affected by regional meteorological conditions, whichinclude scarce rainfalls and a significant wind dispersion ofsoil aerosols.