Heavy Metals in the Soils of Georgia

Soil degradation processes are very sensitive to mountainous countries like Georgia, where erosion processes, contamination of soils with heavy metals and radiation are the biggest concerns. Contamination with heavy metals is resulted from two sources: transport and industry. When sources of soil pollution are mining industries, in contaminated rivers concentrations of Cu, Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn exceed the background values. The problem is that there are no maximum permissible concentrations defined for soil pollution in Georgia and this book is the first attempt to adapt the legislation of European countries to local conditions. Investigation of soils contaminated with heavy metals is very important for land reclamation activities and food safety in the country.