Geologica Macedonica, Vol. 20, pp. 27–32 (2006) GEOME 2 ISSN 0352 – 1206 Manuscript received: April 2, 2006 UDC: 504.53 : 546.56 Accepted: October 12, 2006 Original scientific paper COPPER IN SURFACE SOIL OF VELES REGION, MACEDONIA Zlatko Pančevski 1 , Trajče Stafilov 1 , Marina V. Frontasyeva 2 1 Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" University, P.O.Box 162, 1001 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia 2 Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region, Russian Federation trajcest@iunona.pmf.ukim.edu.mk A b s t r a c t: For the first time a systematic study of copper distribution in surface soil over of the Veles re- gion, known for its lead and zinc industrial activity, was undertaken. A total of 201 soil samples were collected ac- cording to a dense net (0.5 km) in urban and less dense net (1 km) in rural areas. Copper was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) using microwave digestion technique with two different types of solvents: aqua regia (HCl and HNO 3 ) and the mixture of strong acids (HNO 3 , HCl, and HF). So far the same soil samples were subjected to reactor non-destructive multi-element instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), it served as a reference analytical technique for bulk copper determination. The results obtained by two methods of FAAS and INAA are discussed. GIS technology was applied to reveal the areas most affected by copper contamination. It was found that the content of copper in soil samples around the lead and zinc smelter plant is the highest and reaches 1800 mg/kg. Copper content in surface soil all around the town of Veles exceeds maximum permissible level for urban sur- face soil. Elevated copper content in some rural areas of the Veles region most likely could be explained through us- ing copper containing fungicides for agricultural needs. Key words: soil; copper; contamination; Veles; Macedonia; microwave digestion; FAAS; INAA INTRODUCTION Urban pollution with heavy metals has recently become a subject of many studies (De Miguel et al., 1997; Czarnowska, 1999; Ilyin, 1997; Monaci and Bargagli, 1997; Pietuchova et al.; 1996; Birke and Rauch, 1999; Šajn et al., 1998) including several wide-spread metals such as Ba, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, etc. The regional contamination of soil occurs mainly in industrial regions and within centers of large settlements where factories, motor vehicles and municipal wastes are the most important sources of trace metals (A. Kabata-Pendias, H. Pendias, 2001). Because of heterogeneity and ceaseless changing of urban areas, it is necessary first to understand the natural distribution and the methods for distin- guishing man-made anomalies in nature. The natu- ral background itself is variable, which means that higher concentrations of some elements can be nor- mal for one region but anomalous for the other. However, there are cases when the industrial enter- prises, especially metallurgical plants, situated near cities can increase the pollution. There were several investigations of soil, vegetables and fruits produced in the region of Ve- les but they were mainly concerned with contami- nation by lead, zinc and cadmium (Stafilov et al., 1994; Jordanovska and Stafilov, 1996; Stafilov and Jordanovska, 1997; Filipovski, 2003). Copper was not determined though it is known that copper minerals are present in lead and zinc ore and con- centrates used for the production of Pb and Zn in the smelter plants (World Bank Group, 1998; Manahan, 2000). Copper is an essential micro- nutrient required in the growth of both plants and animals. Very high concentrations of copper can be toxic causing adverse effects such as injury to red blood cells, injury to lungs, as well as damage to liver and pancreatic functions (Casarett & Doull's Toxicology, 1995). For this reason the goal of this work was to determine the content of copper in the soil from the town of Veles and its surroundings and to assess the size of the area affected by the lead and zinc smelter plant situated near the town. For the determination of copper, two different analytical techniques were applied: flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) in the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the IBR–2 reactor, FLNP JINR in Dubna, Russia.