Concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface horizons of soils in immediate neighbourhood of illegal waste dumps

The objective of the study was to determine the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils in the immediate neighbourhood of illegal waste dumps and to determine the mutual relations among the particular PAHs as well as the relations between PAH and humus of a group of soils with natural and anthropogenically increased content of those compounds. Soil samples for the determinations were taken in the immediate neighbourhood of illegal dumping grounds of municipal wastes and materials that are predominantly construction materials. The collected soil material was used to determine the grain size composition of the soils, their reaction, content of organic matter and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with the method of high-efficiency liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The study revealed numerous instances of exceeding standard levels of individual PAHs as well as of their total content. Application of statistical analysis of concentrations permitted the division of the objects studied into two groups differing notably in the level of individual PAHs as well as in their total concentration. In the group of objects that were classified as non-contaminated, the existence of positive, statistically significant correlation was found between the total concentration of PAHs and the content of humus compounds, while in the group of contaminated objects the correlation was statistically non-significant.