Impact of pulp and paper industry on the content of selected elements in soils and plants.

• Soils and plants in vicinity of paper factory were studied. • Environmental indices revealed significant Hg enrichment in soils. • Scots pine bark and needles corelate with heavy metals in soils. • Vehicle emission is the dominant input of the metals in soils. • Anthropogenic increase of sulphur content in soils and plants was confirmed. Technologies used in the pulp and paper industry at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries have undergone significant changes. Increasing pressure to reduce emissions of pollutants contributed to the application of new, better technological processes. In addition, the savings of non-renewable resources, as well as the reduction of the amount of solid waste generated, are the main assumptions of modern production technologies in this industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of pulp and paper factory on the content of heavy metals and sulphur in nearby soils. The research material included 65 soil samples. 35 samples were collected from 6 soil profiles, the other 30 were surface and subsurface soil samples from 15 research points. Selected physicochemical properties of soils were determined: soil texture, soil pH, TOC, CaCO 3 content and electric conductivity. The total content of heavy metals in the soils was determined by AAS after digestion in hydrofluoric acid and bioavailable forms in 1 M DTPA. The content of total and sulphate sulphur was determined by spectrophotometry according Bardsley and Lancaster method (1960). The research found low impact of pulp and paper factory on the content of heavy metals and sulphur in soils, however, due to a very large scale of this kind of industry, the moderately contaminated sulphur category and very high polluted mercury category of geo-accumulation index indicate the need of repeating the research within the next several years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]