ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF SOIL CONTAMINATION BY POTENTIALLY TOXIC ELEMENTS CASE STUDY: MITROVICA,REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO

This study aimed to investigate the input of various potentially toxic elements (Ag, Pb, Sb, Bi, Zn, Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Au, Tl, and Mo) into the surface soils of the Mitrovica region, a historically active Pb–Zn mining and metallurgical area in Kosovo. Geochemical analyses and multivariate statistics revealed a strong contamination pattern resulting from anthropogenic inputs of these elements. An ecological risk assessment of soil contamination by these potentially toxic elements was conducted in this region using various indicators. The contamination factors showed extremely high values for Au, Pb, Sb, Cd, As, and Ag compared to European and global background values, indicating very high to extreme soil contamination. The enrichment factors confirmed significant to extremely high enrichment for most elements except Mo and Tl. The geo- аccumulation indexes indices categorized soil as moderately to extremely contaminated, especially for Pb, Ag, As, Bi, Cd, and Zn. The values of both indicators show highly to extremely contaminated soils with most of the analyzed elements, particularly in the cities of Zveçan and Mitrovica. The cumulative ecological risk index was more than thirty times higher than the critical threshold, indicating a serious threat to soil quality and ecological health.