Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals in the Industrial Cities of Mongolia

Abstract

The technogenic anomalies in heavy metal patterns in the soils of Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet cities are characterized both qualitatively and quantitatively. These data permitted to evaluate the background geochemical situation in the study area, and the technogenic specialization of the cities. The geochemical properties of urban soils were shown to display a spatial variability associated with certain functional zones. The ecological status of polluted urban soils was assessed basing on regulatory heavy metal values accepted in Mongolia.

Keywords

• Heavy metals
• urban soils
• functional zones
• technogenic anomalies
• pollution