Abstract
42 soil samples, chosen from 4 transects around brickworks in the Göttingen area (W. Germany), were examined for the toxic elements Bi, Tl, Cd, Pb, and Zn, as well as Fe, Mn, and organic carbon. In 44 plant samples (grass) taken from the same sites the trace elements Cd, Pb, and Zn and the matrix elements K, Ca, Mg, and Na, were determined. Around brickworks, which are situated in an unfavorable morphological region, small anomalies could be detected. A comparison with a highly polluted area around a lead-zinc smelter shows the relatively low level of pollution of the Göttingen area.
By investigating 3 different sets of clay and bricks, the loss of some volatile heavy metals in the process of converting clay to brick could be estimated; the losses are between 17 and 83 percent. Extrapolating this to the entire German Federal Republic, Cd, Tl, Bi, and Hg are emitted in the 10–30 (tons per year) range, Pb and Zn in the 500–100 t/y range. The contamination of the environment by these metals from brickworks is about equal to that released by the coal as it is burned.
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Brumsack, H.J. Potential metal pollution in grass and soil samples around brickworks. Geo 2, 33–42 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02430663
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02430663