Evaluation of heavy metal lability in polluted soils by a cation exchange batch procedure

A new extraction procedure with cationic exchange resins is proposed for the assessment of heavy metal lability in polluted soils. This method classifies soluble metal compounds in three levels according to their lability: very labile, moderately labile and non-labile. The concept of lability is based on the use of resins with different ability to interact with metals. The proposed procedure was applied to five samples of polluted soils. In the five soils, soluble Cd was found to be very labile, soluble Ni and Pb were mostly non-labile, Mn and Zn lability depended on the soil, while Cu had a fraction of moderately labile forms in four of the five soils. The resin extraction procedure was compared with the DTPA and CaCl2 extractions.