Environmental impact of dusting from the Koper port bulk cargo terminal on the agricultural soils

Abstract

Areas around seaports are prone to environmental damage. In the port of Koper, Slovenia hematite was transhipped during a strong wind. The broader area was accidentally covered with hematite dust. Since the soils had already been geochemically mapped, we repeated the sampling to compare the geochemical composition of the topsoil. No soil contamination was established. The enrichment factors show depletion of majority of elements. According to the distances from the dust source, SiO2, Na2O and Cr have decreasing, and Fe2O3 increasing trends. The SiO2 and Cr content correspond to the concentration of quartz rich sand, and the dissolution of carbonate closer to the sea. Co and Ni are probably bound to the clay minerals. Cu, Pb, and Zn could have some anthropogenic contribution.

Keywords

• soil contamination
• micaceous hematite
• dusting
• seaport
• northern adriatic sea
• port of koper
• slovenia