RUDN study: parks can be more polluting than city centers
Using Moscow as an example, new research from the Moscow University of International Understanding (RUDN) has shown that parks pose as great a threat to the environment as city centers because of the weaker barrier function of their soils.
A team of soil scientists at the Russian University of Friendship of Peoples RUDN University confirms that traditional approaches to monitoring urban soil pollution ignore the real risks to city dwellers because they do not take into account the barrier function of soil. Using Moscow as an example, the team shows that not only polluted inner-city districts, but also recreational parks and forested areas can pose a threat to people. This is because the barrier function of soil in green suburbs is weaker, so it cannot withstand even the slightest pollution. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Using Moscow as an example, new research from the Moscow University of International Understanding (RUDN) showed that not only polluted inner city districts, but also parks and forest areas can pose a threat to humanity. This is due to the fact that the barrier function of soils is weaker in green suburbs.
On industrial soil pollution
Industrial soil pollution with heavy metals poses a threat to human health. From the soil, pollutants get into the water, dust and plants. The intensity of these processes depends on the properties of the soil, its organic composition, acidity and texture. Clay and loam soils, for example, act as geochemical barriers. They retain pollutants. This prevents them from spreading further.
Traditional approaches to ecological monitoring, however, assess risks based only on the concentration of pollutants, RUDN underscores in a Media release. Their experiment covered nine administrative districts of Moscow. The researchers took soil samples at 224 locations in public spaces, residential areas and industrial zones. The main sources of contamination were industrial plants and automobiles. In more than 30 percent of the samples, the concentration of heavy metals exceeded the standards set by the Russian Ministry of Health and Consumer Rights. The most contaminated samples were from public places in the city center. However, the clay soil typical of central Moscow, with its alkaline acidity, has a high barrier activity index. This means that it can retain pollution.
"In some cases, the ability of soils to bind heavy metals compensates for high levels of pollution. On the other hand, topsoils in some green zones are not able to retain even the smallest amounts of pollutants," said Olga Romzaykina, a researcher at RUDN. (Source: RUDN).
