Heavy-metal contaminated soils associated with drained fenland in Lancashire, England, UK, revealed by BGS Soil Geochemical Survey.

Areas showing anomalously high levels of heavy metals (eg. Cu, Pb, Sn, Zn) in both peri-urban and rural soils in parts of western Lancashire (UK) were indentified during a regional geochemical survey. The sites were identified as areas of former peat fenland that had been filled in with a variety of domestic and industrial wastes including furnace slag, as well as inert rubble. The very high levels of heavy metals present in the soil raises concerns about possible translocation into food crops, as this is an important market gardening area. There is no direct evidence of a health risk, and the high-pH soils will limit metal mobility and bioavailability, but these soils are worthy of further multidisciplinary scientific investigation.