Perchlorate contamination of soils collected from the Maltese Islands

Abstract

During the summer months, the Maltese Islands experience a large number of religious feasts, most of which are accompanied by firework activity. Between the 26th of January and the 8th of December, approximately 86 religious feasts are celebrated annually in different towns and villages in the Maltese Islands, accompanied by both aerial and ground fireworks displays. The pyrotechnical community counts several thousand enthusiasts who passionately and without any financial compensation produce fireworks. Perchlorate contamination in the environment is a worldwide problem, with high levels detected in dust fall collected from the Maltese Islands (Vella et al., 2015). During this study the levels of perchlorate in soil samples collected from 19 different locations were determined. Perchlorate was detected in 8 of 19 samples, with 3 of these samples having levels below detection limit. The levels ranged from BDL to 357 μg kg-1, with a mean value of 49.9 μg kg-1. The highest perchlorate concentrations were detected in soils collected from the South of the Maltese Islands, as was observed for dust samples. This was attributed to the predominant wind direction, being from the Northwest, causing the movement of contaminants from the North to the South of the Maltese Islands. These results and perchlorate levels in dust fall (Vella et al., 2015), clearly point out that the Maltese environment is contaminated with perchlorate, due to the excessive pyrotechnic activity.