Case Study of Lead Pollution in the Roads of Almaty

Lead pollution and its impacts have been studied and evaluated extensively resulting in its use being restricted and banned by many countries. This paper reviews a number of previous studies that have been examining the distribution of lead among other contaminants in the soil near transportation roads. The paper presents the research on lead pollution in the roads of Almaty aiming to raise awareness of the ecological situation in the cities of Kazakhstan. The methodology of the research consists of road selection; choice of method and analysis, sample collection, laboratory tests, result processing and conclusions. Chemical analysis of soil was done by atomic emission and absorption spectrometry - concentrations of lead in the soil exceed the normative (32 mg/kg) in all sampling locations. The results of reference soil samples from the Gorky Park show that the lead concentration in the soil of Almaty could be higher overall all due to the surrounding geological conditions and industrial history. The study found evident correlation between the lead content in the soil from the selected roads and the intensity of traffic on these roads.