Trace element concentrations and stable lead isotopes in soils as tracers of lead pollution in Graft-De Rijp, the Netherlands

Graft-De Rijp is a former village of whalers, situated twenty-five kilometres north of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since the foundation of De Rijp in 1612 a mixture of sludge, manure and town refuse (containing Pb-based household artefacts and Pb-based building materials) was used to raise and fertilise the land. Gasworks, coal storehouses, printing works and tanneries were started in the industrial area (after 1860). Surface soils in the “old” town centre of De Rijp are highly contaminated with Pb and, to a lesser extent, with Zn, Cu and As. Stable Pb isotopes combined with statistical analysis of the chemical dataset provided a tool whereby the sources of contaminant Pb, and related heavy metals were identified. Three major sources of Pb contamination could be distinguished: (1) remnants of the “old” town (building materials such as Pb sheets, glazed roof tiles and paint), (2) coal ashes and (3) alkyl-leaded petrol. In addition, high Zn, Cu and As are strongly related to Pb pollution, which is predominantly found in the topsoil (0–0.5 m) of the “old” town centre of Graft-De Rijp.