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Abstract:

This article raises the issue of heavy metal concentrations in urban soils. Soil samples were collected from the surface layers of urban soils located in industrial areas, urban allotment garden areas as well as urban green areas in the city of Skarżysko-Kamienna which has chiefly industrial origins. The soil samples collected in Skarżysko-Kamienna indicated slightly acidic pHKCl in the range of 3.48-6.97. The highest average pH KCl value was reported for the industrial areas. The analyses indicated varied concentrations of heavy metals. The maximum values were reported for the soil samples coming from the industrial areas, except for Cd whose highest values were noted in the soils of urban allotment gardens. The results in comparison to the geochemical background defined for the soils of Skarżysko-Kamienna demonstrated higher concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn in the soils. This was confirmed by the analysis of the contamination degree determined through the geoaccumulation index (Igeo); however, the Igeo values were very differentiated within each group of land-use types. The study does not indicate a direct relationship between heavy metal concentrations and types of land use, except for Cr in the case of which such relationships were statistically proved. The degree of contamination of the city is especially affected by the locations having outlying concentrations of heavy metals as showed by the spatial presentation of the obtained results by means of the kriging method.