Europa XXI (2015) vol. 28

The influence of car traffic on the sanitary state of the soils

Marek Degórski, Izabela Zawiska

Europa XXI (2015) vol. 28, pp. 139-150 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2015.28.7

Abstract

The influence of car transport on the sanitary state of the soils is the subject of numerous investigations, carried out in various regions of the world, including Poland. The purpose of the study here presented was to determine the content of the heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Cr) in the soils of the areas situated along the roads, characterised by different intensities of traffic, different throughput capacities and smoothness of car traffic flow, as well as different road qualities. Investigations have been carried out in various regions of Poland, in the vicinity of the national roads, expressways, as well as motorways. The samples were collected along the transects, located perpendicularly to the road edge, at distances of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 metres from the road edge. The analysis of the results obtained allowed for the formulation of the following conclusions: the differences as to the heavy metal content in the soils between the particular segments analysed reach the ratio of over 100 times; the decrease of heavy metal content in the soils follows the distance away from the road towards the open space, and is characterized by a more regular distribution in the case of the areas along the national roads and less regular in the case of areas along the motorways; with similar intensities of traffic, the impact of the motorways on the environment is decidedly lower than of the national roads.

Keywords: noise, acoustic climate, car traffic, sound propagation

Marek Degórski [m.degor@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Izabela Zawiska [izawiska@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Citation

APA: Degórski, M., & Zawiska, I. (2015). The influence of car traffic on the sanitary state of the soils. Europa XXI, 28, 139-150. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2015.28.7

MLA: Degórski, Marek and Zawiska, Izabela. "The influence of car traffic on the sanitary state of the soils". Europa XXI, vol. 28, 2015, pp. 139-150. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2015.28.7

Chicago: Degórski, Marek and Zawiska, Izabela. "The influence of car traffic on the sanitary state of the soils". Europa XXI 28 (2015): 139-150. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2015.28.7

Harvard: Degórski, M., & Zawiska, I. 2015. "The influence of car traffic on the sanitary state of the soils". Europa XXI, vol. 28, pp. 139-150. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2015.28.7