Investigation of selected metals in soil samples exposed to agricultural and automobile activities in Macedonia, Greece using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

This study presents the results of selected metals in soils samples determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry from five sampling sites in the rural area of the town of Damiano, in Macedonia, Greece, and four sampling sites along the 60 mile distance from Damiano to the airport of the city of Thessaloniki in Macedonia, Greece. It also compares the impact of automobile traffic to the impact of agricultural activities, and investigates how the use of pesticides and fertilizers could impact the concentrations of particular metals in soils found in agricultural areas. Animal manure was found to contain high amounts of Zn and Cu which could have impacted these concentrations at site G6, which is believed to have been the site of Alexander the Great's stables. The Cu and Zn dry mass concentrations at site G6 were 62 and 103 mg/kg (ppm) respectively, which were relatively higher than in other agricultural areas. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.