Tracing diffuse anthropogenic Pb sources in rural soils by means of Pb isotope analysis

Knowledge of the cause and source of Pb pollution is important to abate environmental Pb pollution by taking source-related actions. Lead isotope analysis is a potentially powerful tool to identify anthropogenic Pb and its sources in the environment. Spatial information on the variation of anthropogenic Pb content and anthropogenic Pb sources in rural topsoils is remarkably limited. This study presents results of a survey of approximately 350 topsoil samples from rural locations covering the entire Netherlands, for which the bulk geochemical and Pb isotope compositions were determined. The specific aim of this study is to determine the anthropogenic Pb sources in the topsoils from rural areas in The Netherlands. The spatial distribution of anthropogenic Pb in soils in The Netherlands will be explained in terms of land use and pollution sources.Nearly all studied topsoils display Pb contents that exceed the amount expected based on the soil lithology. The range in Pb isotope ratios of the additional Pb fraction in rural Dutch topsoils is established at 1.056-1.199, 2.336-2.486 and 0.452-0.490 for