Analysis of emissions through traffic volume in roadside soils and their effects on seepage water

This paper focuses on smaller roads on the outskirts of cities. The aim was to provide information covering the traffic on them and the spatial effects of their emissions on soils and the transfer of contamination in the groundwater. This information is the basis for questions of soil protection linked to questions of sustainable development in road planning. The study is based on a field trial analysing four different sites in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) for a period of one year. It was conducted within the scope of the research and development proposal financed by the Federal Minister of Traffic Affairs—‘The establishment and assessment of the effects of roads on the ecological factors soil and water’. To link the contamination of the soils to the groundwater it was decided to study the quality of seepage water in the unsaturated zone of the soils. The program of measuring and analysing included the periodic taking of soil samples at fixed intervals. Seepage water samples were also taken and analysed every 10 days. At the same time climatological data determined by the topography were measured.