Contaminated grassland soils around the Lengerich cement plant (profiles 1 to 3)
North Rhine-Westphalia, Lengerich (Steinfurt district), Germany
Soils
- Type
- Soil
Late-1970s Tl pollution from a cement plant near Lengerich, which added Tl-rich Meggen pyrite roaster calcines to the raw meal as an iron corrective; deposition estimated up to 400 µg/m²/d, leaf necrosis and alopecia in livestock, stopped in 1979. Three grassland profiles down to 1 m, numbered by increasing distance from the plant, on marly moraine till. Total and exchangeable Tl highest at the surface and decreasing with depth (addition profiles); ε205Tl and 1/[Tl] aligned (r² = 0.82) between an emission end-member near 0 (Tl above 2 mg/kg) and a geogenic background near -4 (0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg), possibly inherited from marine carbonates; exchangeable Tl rises from 2 % at depth to 17 % at the surface (Kersten et al., 2014). Indicative coordinates (Lengerich town): profile locations shown only on a figure.
ε205Tl in ε units (parts per 10,000) Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 997
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −0.08 ± 0.35 ε | soil of profile 1, 0-10 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 3.17 ± 0.43 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.554 ± 0.045 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3; heaviest and most Tl-rich soil value, identical to the kiln dust. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −1.56 ± 0.35 ε | soil of profile 1, 10-30 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 0.72 ± 0.08 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.086 ± 0.010 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −2.55 ± 0.4 ε | 1 | soil of profile 1, 30-40 cm Single analysis; ± 0.4 ε (2 SD); 0.23 ± 0.02 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.020 ± 0.002 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | |
| −0.88 ± 0.4 ε | 1 | soil of profile 2, 0-10 cm Single analysis; ± 0.4 ε (2 SD); 2.27 ± 0.18 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.243 ± 0.014 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | |
| −1.69 ± 0.4 ε | 1 | soil of profile 2, 10-30 cm Single analysis; ± 0.4 ε (2 SD); 1.64 ± 0.29 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.150 ± 0.012 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | |
| −2.31 ± 0.35 ε | soil of profile 2, 30-50 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 0.63 ± 0.03 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.074 ± 0.004 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −3.59 ± 0.35 ε | soil of profile 2, 50-90 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 0.21 ± 0.04 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.007 ± 0.002 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3; geogenic background. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −3.61 ± 0.35 ε | soil of profile 2, 90-100 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 0.15 ± 0.02 mg/kg Tl, of which below 0.001 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3; C horizon of the marly till, geogenic background. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −2 ± 0.4 ε | soil of profile 3, 0-10 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.4 ε (2 SD); 0.92 ± 0.06 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.063 ± 0.006 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | ||
| −2.59 ± 0.35 ε | 1 | soil of profile 3, 10-30 cm Single analysis; ± 0.35 ε (2 SD); 0.46 ± 0.02 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.021 ± 0.003 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… | |
| −4.17 ± 0.4 ε | soil of profile 3, 30-40 cm Published mean of 2 to 4 analyses; ± 0.4 ε (2 SD); 0.16 ± 0.01 mg/kg Tl, of which 0.006 ± 0.001 mg/kg extractable with 1 M NH4NO3; lightest value, geogenic background. | Kersten et al. (2014), Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compos… |
Deposits of the same type
- Forest soil next to the Erzmatt (profile F) Switzerland
- Erzmatt meadow soil (profile M) Switzerland
- Erzmatt soil profiles P1 to P3 (Voegelin et al., 2015) Switzerland
- Soils of the Peisey-Nancroix mining and metallurgical site France
- Kluky grassland soil (Stagnic Cambisol on granite) Czechia
- Black Triangle forest and meadow soils (southeast of Turów) République tchèque
- Lot riverbank soils upstream of the Riou Mort confluence France
- Riou Mort basin soils around the Viviez plant France
Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Contaminated grassland soils around the Lengerich cement plant (profiles 1 to 3), isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/sols-de-prairie-contamines-autour-de-la-cimenterie-de-lengerich-profils-1-a-3/ (accessed 2026-10-16).
@misc{isofind2026contaminatedgrasslandsoilsaro,
title = {Contaminated grassland soils around the Lengerich cement plant (profiles 1 to 3), isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/sols-de-prairie-contamines-autour-de-la-cimenterie-de-lengerich-profils-1-a-3/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Updated : 2026-10-16