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Human activities in cities affect properties of urban soils. In particular, urban soils often contain high contents of harmful metals even in deeper horizons added to them from diverse sources over centuries of the city development. This is reflected in complex distribution of metals in bulk soils with depth and the complex metal fractionation, but the exact sources of the metals are difficult to identify. This is also the situation in soils from Wroclaw, one of the largest cities in Poland. Potentially harmful elements Pb, Cd and Hg were examined in six profiles located along the major communication route and compared to two non-urban soils profiles located close to the same route. In all of the urban profiles, Pb and Cd exceeded the element contents observed in non-urban profiles and showed an erratic distribution compared to the more predictable one in non-urban soils. The differences between urban and non-urban profiles were explained as the result of contamination coming from more pollution sources in the case of urban soils, the conclusion supported by Pb isotope analyses. In fact, Pb isotopes showed that the contamination sources in urban soils included leaded petrol, coal combustion, smelting and possibly old pre-industrial ore processing, whereas leaded petrol and pre-industrial lead were the only possible anthropogenic sources in non-urban soils. The comparison of Wrocöaw soils with those from cities of comparable size Kraków and Poznań show similar ranges of metal contents with implication that urban pollution oversteps diverse geogenic chemical background. On the other hand, the comparison with other European cities show large variability in metal contents and suggest that urban soils contamination is time integrated and reflects long-term industrial evolution of each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations of mercury (Hg) were examined in the blood of mute swans from rural breeding sites and urban wintering areas in southern parts of Poland, Europe. The birds were classified into three age groups: cygnets, juveniles and adults. To investigate the potential impact of Hg on birds, hematocrit (Ht), reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and morphometric measurements were taken. Using morphometric parameters, we stated that all mute swans sampled were in good condition. The mercury concentrations found were rather low and differed between birds from industrialized wintering areas and rural breeding areas (means 7 ng/mL and 2 ng/mL, respectively). We found no difference in Hg concentrations between the sexes, but concentrations varied significantly between age groups (cygnets 2 ng/mL, juveniles 7 ng/mL and adults 6 ng/mL). A similar trend was observed for hematocrit levels. GSH levels did not differ between any of the groups studied. We found no significant relationship between blood parameters (Ht, GSH) in relation to Hg concentrations. We conclude that the Hg concentrations in blood may be influenced by industrialization, season and age, but generally low concentration such as those found by us do not affect Ht and GSH levels. Image 1 • Blood Hg concentrations found were generally low. • Blood parameters (Ht, GSH and Hg levels) did not differ in respect of sex. • Only levels of Ht and Hg differed according to age group (the lowest in cygnets). • No correlations were found between the blood parameters studied. Variability of low mercury levels in blood of mute swans is linked to age and season factors, but it is unrelated to blood parameters and sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our review of the literature showed that since the beginning of the socio-economic transformation in Poland in the 1990s, the downward trend in Hg emissions and its deposition in the southern Baltic Sea was followed by a simultaneous decrease in Hg levels in water and marine plants and animals. Hg concentrations in the biota lowered to values that pose no or low risk to wildlife and seafood consumers. However, in the first decade of the current century, a divergence between these two trends became apparent and Hg concentrations in fish, herring and cod, began to rise. Therefore, increasing emission-independent anthropogenic pressures, which affect Hg uptake and trophodynamics, remobilization of land-based and marine legacy Hg deposits, as well as the structure of the food web, can undermine the chances of reducing both the Hg pool in the marine environment and human Hg exposure from fish. [Display omitted] • Hg levels in water and wildlife of the southern Baltic have decreased since the 1990s. • The environmental response to changes in Hg emission was evident and not postponed. • The current level of Hg in the sea poses a low risk to wildlife and human health. • Hg pool may increase due to climate change-related remobilization of legacy deposits. • The future Hg level will be shaped by emission-independent environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piscivorous avian species may be affected by mercury (Hg) which tends to accumulate in aquatic environments and biomagnifies across the food webs. One of such species is the black stork, whose population increase recently slowed down due to unknown reasons. At the same time Hg contamination and its effects were almost unaudited for this species, so it may have exerted deleterious effects on the population and an evaluation is necessary. This is the first study of this species concerning Hg contamination. Thus, Hg concentrations were investigated in the down of black stork chicks (N = 90) from breeding locations in central and southern Poland (Europe) between 2015 and 2017. As well as Hg levels, morphometric parameters and age were evaluated. Mean Hg concentrations reached 0.7 μg/g d.w. and differed significantly between years, from the lowest value noted in 2017 (mean 0.5 μg/g), through 2016 (0.7 μg/g), to the highest one in 2015 (0.9 μg/g), and between nest locations where higher Hg levels were generally found in northern parts of the study area. Hg concentrations were also unrelated to morphometric parameters. Contrarily, morphometric parameters revealed high correlations between themselves, which was confirmed by the cluster analysis (revealing only two clusters) and principal component analysis (the first PC explained 96.8% of the variance). Hg levels in the down of black storks were rather low with the fluctuation between years and nest locations probably caused by parental exposure during wintering, migration, pre-breeding season and recent exposure through food provided by parents. Such low Hg concentrations seemed not to affect the population from the region studied. Image 1 • Hg concentrations decreased between 2015 and 2017. • Nests close to cities and power-plants showed elevated Hg concentrations. • Hg levels were not related to morphometry parameters. • morphometry parameters were highly correlated between themselves. • Hg seemed to not affect black stork population from the region studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]