Assessing the human health risks posed by industrially contaminated urban soil : chromium in Glasgow.

Many cities throughout the UK have a long history of both urbanisation and industrialisation, resulting in elevated concentrations of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in soils. A recent survey by the British Geological Survey (BGS) of the Glasgow urban environment has highlighted numerous sites with PHE concentrations exceeding guideline values generated by the Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment (CLEA) model. Whether or not these sites pose a hazard to human health depends on a number of factors, including the bioavailability of the associated PHEs. The most important pathway for exposure to PHEs in contaminated land is believed to be through ingestion of the soil itself. This is a particular problem with young children.