Using soil geochemical data as environmental records of past industrial activities(Wallonia, South Belgium)

Wallonia (South Belgium) has had an intense industrial activity during the 19th century including iron mills, steelmaking blast furnaces and non-ferrous metals smelting plants (Pb,Zn), which durably impacted soils pollutant concentrations on large areas. Here we outline the results of the modeling of the impact of the major former industrial plants on metal soil concentration at a regional scale. The methodology established for assessing the impact of each industrial plant involves three steps. In the first step, the pollutant dispersion from 89 former industrial plants each considered individ... Mehr ...