Metais pesados em solos do Rio Grande do Norte: valores de referência de qualidade e relações geopedológicas

Abstract

Industrial development and population growth have influenced the heavy metal concentrations in soils as well as impacted the soil quality. In this scenario, environmental protection agencies have been concerned on establishing heavy metal quality reference values (QRV) in order to identify contaminated sites. A first step for QRV establishment is the determination of natural concentrations of metals in soil which represent the metal concentrations with no anthropogenic interference. The work was carried out to determine natural soil concentrations and provide soil reference values for the metals Ag, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn in soils of the Rio Grande do Norte state according to the Brazilian legislation. The study analyzed 416 soil samples taken from areas with minimal anthropic interference. These samples were digested by USEPA 3051A method and the metals were measured by ICP-OES or flame atomic absorption (FAA). Positive correlations were obtained for metals with pH, CEC, OC, silt and clay contents. Fe and Mg were found in concentrations higher than other Brazil regions and are due to the parent material high in these elements. The results showed that regional geochemical surveys are essential to establish QRV for heavy metals. For example, QRV for the soils of Rio Grande Norte were more restrictive than QRV adopted for other Brazilian states. The confirmation factorial analysis was useful for obtaining QRV more reliable. Such analysis indicated that these values could be obtained from two replicates only.