journal article·2022-09-01Open access

Can Isotopes Be Used as Lead Tracers in Shooting-Range Soils?

Andrés Rodríguez-Seijo, Knut Endre Sjåstad, Vladislav Chrastný

Applied Sciences· Volume 12· Issue 17

Abstract

Lead isotopes have been widely used to assess the sources of Pb in the soil environment since lead isotopes ratios have a specific signature that allows us to use them as environmental tracers. However, some lead sources are difficult to be identified. This article contains the lead isotope data from soils and shot pellets collected in an abandoned shooting range (NW Spain). Twelve soil and three-shot pellet samples were randomly collected and analyzed using MC-ICP-MS. The isotope ratios are shown, and analyses proved that Pb originated predominantly from the used shot pellets. Contaminated soils exhibited an isotopic composition (206Pb/207Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/206Pb) close to some shot pellets from different manufacturers. These results offer new, valuable data for other researchers working on lead contamination research and the identification sources of Pb for adjacent areas to shooting-range facilities and for wildlife ecotoxicology. Still, the use of several ammunitions derived from different sources, such as recycled Pb, showed that it is hard to identify the lead source and these kinds of facilities.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Heavy metals in environment · Mercury impact and mitigation studies · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal

Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal

Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS), P.O. Box 8163, 0034 Oslo, Norway

Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6, Suchdol, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic

Funding

Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain · Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal · Scientific Employment Stimulus-Individual 2017 program · MCIN/AEI/UVigo · Grant Agency of the Czech Republic

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