Investigation of soil pollution with heavy metals in Lithuanian military grounds

Abstract

Military grounds are the largest military activity territories in Lithuania. In some of them, military activities are going on for more than 100 years. Specific nature of long-term activities carried out in military grounds with military equipment, weapons, ammunition and different busters have caused the anomalies of pollution with heavy metals in some places. And what is more, in many places the environment is polluted with oil products, remains of bullets and explosive devices can be found in tactical fields, and continuous devastation has resulted in a sandy soil. The damage caused to the environment by military activities is not limited with pollution of military grounds and surrounding landscapes with different chemical substances. Water that gets into the soil destroys the remains of explosives and ammunition, filters into the deeper layers of the soil and poses a risk of pollution. The surface layer of the soil is a barrier protecting subsoil water against pollution with different chemical substances. By the extent of soil pollution, it could be judged about the risk of subsoil water pollution. The carried out investigation was aimed at finding out the distribution of heavy metals characteristic of munition (zinc, copper, lead) in the deeper layers of the soil (up to 1-meter depth) and the trends of its changes. Tests were carried out in two major military grounds of Lithuania located in different places but used for the same purpose. The received results allowed not only to evaluate the extent of pollution with heavy metals but also to determine the peculiarities of their migration.