The controversial points and a remedy on evaluation of heavy metal contamination in standard method for examination of soil in Korea.

국내 토양오염 공정시험방법중 중금속 관련 오염평가의 문제점과 개선책

Heavy metals are extracted from stream sediments, roadside soils and sediments and soils and tailings from mining area using partial extraction, acid digestion and HF-digestion. Compared to amounts of heavy metals extracted using partial extraction, those extracted using acid digestion are higher by 2.0∼220.9 times in Cu, 2.4∼2806.1 times in Pb, 1.3∼121 times in Cd, 14.1∼1300885 times in Fe, 1.2∼271.5 times in Mn, 1.3∼372.5 times in Zn, 2.2∼1734.5 times in Cr. Although partial extraction, which extracts less amounts of heavy metals from soil compared to acid digestion, is used in domestic standard method for examination of soil, domestic soil standard for heavy metals in non-agricultural and industrial areas is higher than soil standard in foreign countries which use acid digestion, For improvement of the domestic standard method for assessment of soil, it is suggested to lower the domestic soil standard for heavy metals or to change pretreatment method for extracting heavy metals from partial extraction to acid digestion with modifying the soil standard.