Chemical properties and toxicity of soils contaminated by mining activity

is aimed at assessing the total content and soluble forms of metals (zinc, lead and cad-mium) and toxicity of soils subjected to strong human pressure associated with mining of zinc and lead ores. The research area lay in the neighbourhood of the Bolesław Mine and Metallurgical Plant in Bukowno (Poland). The study obtained total cadmium concentration between 0.29 and 51.91 mg, zinc between 7.90 and 3,614 mg, and that of lead between 28.4 and 6844 mg kg-1 of soil d.m. The solubility of the heavy metals in 1 mol dm-3 NH4NO3 was 1–49 % for zinc, 5–45 % for cadmium, and \1–10 % for lead. In 1 mol HCl dm-3, the solubility of the studied metals was much higher and obtained values depending on the collec-tion site, from 45 to 92 % for zinc, from 74 to 99 %, and from 79 to 99 % for lead. The lower solubility of the heav