Heavy Metals Pollution in Urban Soils

In order to better understand the spatial variation of metals in urban soils, samples were collected from four urban parks: a roadside sports ground, a traditional bonfire site, a historical landfilling site and a city park in both Galway and Dublin City. Soil geochemical variables were determined using different chemical techniques (e.g. Portable X-ray fluorescence and, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Emission Spectroscopy). The results were analyzed using conventional statistics, geostatistics and a geographic information system (GIS). Like most European countries, there are many public sports grounds and parks in Ireland; however few previous studies concerning metal contamination have been carried out in these public amenities. The study provides the total and bioavailable metal concentrations in urban soils in Ireland, which not only indicated their current contaminative status, but also can be used for comparative purposes in future pollution assessment studies. These results are particularly useful for policy development and management practices in public spaces and sports grounds in urban areas.