Spatial Trends of Mercury in the Surface Soils around the Shi li-quan Power Plant of Zaozhuang City, China

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) deposition in soils derived from coal combustion in coal-fired power plants can be large and quickly. In this study, Shi li-quan power plant, a large ultra-high voltage thermal power plant which is located in Zaozhuang City was selected to study the effect of the coal-fired power plant on the Hg deposition in surrounding soils. Results showed that the average soil Hg contents near the power plant is ~0.1 mg/kg which is about 5-fold than the background level of Shandong province (0.019 mg/kg). Soil Hg contents decreased with increasing distance from power plant and the decreasing speed being relatively slow in the northeast of the power plant due to convenient transportation and dense population. Keywords—mercury; soil; shi li-quan power plant; spatial distribution