Lead distribution in soils impacted by a secondary lead smelter: Experimental and modelling approaches

Arnaud R Schneider (1) , Benjamin Cancès (1) , Marie Ponthieu (1) , Sophie Sobanska (2) , Marc F Benedetti (3) , Olivier Pourret (4, 5) , Alexandra Conreux (1) , Ivan Calandra (6) , Blandine Martinet (1) , Xavier Morvan (1) , Maxime Gommeaux (1) , Béatrice Marin (1)

1 GEGENAA - Groupe d'Étude sur les Géomatériaux et Environnements Naturels, Anthropiques et Archéologiques - EA 3795
2 LASIRE - Laboratoire Avancé de Spectroscopie pour les Intéractions la Réactivité et l'Environnement - UMR 8516
3 IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
4 UniLaSalle
5 AGHYLE - Agro-écologie, Hydrogéochimie, Milieux et Ressources
6 PEPS - PaleoEnvironnements et PaleobioSphere

Smelting activities are one of the most common sources of trace elements in the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the lead distribution in upper horizons (0–5 and 5–10 cm) of acidic soils in the vicinity of a lead-acid battery recycling plant in northern France. The combination of chemical methods (sequential extractions), physical methods (Raman microspectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive spectrometer) and multi-surface complexation modelling enabled an assessment of the behaviour of Pb. Regardless of the studied soil, none of the Pb-bearing phases commonly identified in similarly polluted environments (e.g., anglesite) were observed. Lead was mainly associated with organic matter and manganese oxides. The association of Pb with these soil constituents can be interpreted as evidence of Pb redistribution in the studied soils following smelter particle deposition.

Mots clés: lead; soil organic matter; polluted soils; manganese oxides

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie; Géochimie

Arnaud R Schneider, Benjamin Cancès, Marie Ponthieu, Sophie Sobanska, Marc F Benedetti, et al.. Lead distribution in soils impacted by a secondary lead smelter: Experimental and modelling approaches. Science of the Total Environment, 2016, 568, pp.155-163. ⟨10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.001⟩. ⟨hal-02136536⟩