Does the use of zinc harm the environment?
No, zinc is not harmful to the environment. Zinc is applied in construction, agriculture and in traffic. All applications result in emissions that occur no environmental damage. There are only a handful of building materials for which the total environmental balance is as positive as for zinc.
Metals remain forever in the soil?
Yes, they are there for millions of years and they will be there until the end of time. Of organic contaminants, we know that they are converted into other organic compounds and they eventually degrade to CO2 and water. Metals belong to nature. There are a large number of physical and chemical processes that determine the natural form of metals present in the bottom.
What causes the ecotoxicity of metals in soil determined?
This is determined by the character of the specific metal and through the biologically available concentration of that metal in the soil.
What is natural accumulation of metals?
As plants grow they remove zinc, copper and other essential elements through their roots from deeper layers of the soil. Plants contain in average about 10 mg of zinc and 1 mg of copper per kg. Plants pass away and the vegetable remains are staying on the soil surface. It is degenerating and the metal in it disappears with the rainwater in the soil. The binding strength of soil for metals, however, is so large that the metal does not go further than the upper centimeters. Slowly it is rinsed into the deeper soil layers. This process results in an accumulation of metal in the top layer of the soil. This natural accumulation may, under certain circumstances, come to roughly a doubling of the concentration.