Potentially toxic elements in the soil of an urban area in Croatia: A multimethodological approach for the assessment of mobility, environmental and human health risks

Sakan, Sanja; Frančišković-Bilinski, Stanislav; Peco, Josip; Sakan, Nenad; Dojčinović, Biljana; Dević, Gordana; Đorđević, Dragana (2026) Potentially toxic elements in the soil of an urban area in Croatia: A multimethodological approach for the assessment of mobility, environmental and human health risks. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 90 . ISSN 0090-4341

HTML - Submitted Version - article Download (1MB)

Abstract

The contamination of soils in the urban area of Zagreb with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) was assessed by predicting their mobility and evaluating the risk to the environment and human health. Sequential extraction was performed using the optimized BCR (Community Bureau of Reference) method. The enrichment factor (EF) was calculated to assess soil contamination. The mobility risk assessment was performed using the risk assessment code (RAC) and the modified risk assessment code (mRAC). In the mobile fraction, Ca, Sr, and Mg are only weakly bound by carbonate compounds, while the other elements are strongly bound to the soils. Mn, Pb, Ba, and Cd are bound to oxides, and the least mobile elements such as Al, As, Co, Fe, Zn, K, Na, Ni, Cr, Sb, Cu and Li occurred mainly in the residual fraction. High extraction efficiency (above 40%) for Pb, Cd, and Cu was obtained when 0.43 M HNO3 was used for extraction, and this acid is recommended for analyzing the geochemical reactivity of PTEs. The increased content of Ni, Cu, Cr, and As is accompanied by a high EF, indicating the existence of anthropogenic sources of these elements. The hazard index (HI) for adults and children is < 1.0, indicating that these PTEs have no significant non-carcinogenic effects on the human body. The cancer risk (CR) for children is highest for Ni, Cr and As and for adults for Ni. The Monte Carlo simulations show that Cd and As are the most important risk factors in the soils studied.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	soil; BCR extraction method; Monte Carlo simulation; potentially toxic elements; human health risk
Subjects:	NATURAL SCIENCES > Geology NATURAL SCIENCES > Chemistry NATURAL SCIENCES > Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences NATURAL SCIENCES > Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences > Environmental Science
Divisions:	Division for Marine and Enviromental Research
Depositing User:	Stanislav Frančišković-Bilinski
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2026 15:57
URI:	http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/11168
DOI:	10.1007/s00244-025-01180-3

Actions (login required)

View Item