--> Abstract: Background Metal Concentrations in Soils in Northern Santa Clara County, California, by C. M. Scott; #90958 (1995).

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Abstract: Background Metal Concentrations in Soils in Northern Santa Clara County, California

Christina M. Scott

Soil analytical data were evaluated to determine the natural background levels of selected metals in an area of northern Santa Clara County, California. The metals of interest are those designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as priority pollutants: silver, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, nickel, lead, antimony, selenium, thallium and zinc. The soil data used in this study were obtained from pre-existing reports for various environmental investigations. Results from over 150 samples were entered into a database. The average, standard deviation, and a range for each metal were calculated, unless the metal was not present above the analytical detection level in at least fifty percent of the samples.

Background metal concentration ranges (in milligrams per kilogram) were found to be: arsenic 0.2 to 5.5; beryllium 0.3 to 1.4; chromium 30.5 to 72; copper 23.8 to 47.5; nickel 46.4 to 101; lead 6.8 to 16.1; and zinc 47.7 to 82.8.

The background metal concentrations in the study area were compared to the range of concentrations reported by the U.S. Geological Survey in a nation-wide study and found to be within the low end of those ranges.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90958©1995 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, San Francisco, California