The relationship between the concentration of rare earth elements in landfill soil and their distribution in the parent material:.A case study from Cerreto, Roccasecca, Central Italy

In order to identify new survey methods for the environmental characterisation of areas affected by anthropogenic pressure, several geochemical investigations were conducted on a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in Central Italy: the Cerreto landfill. The area is characterised by a substrate of continental deposits formed by clay and sand, and alluvial deposits associated with different depositional events of the main rivers present in the study area. This study aims to analyse the rare earth elements (REEs) in the Cerreto landfill mass within the landfill soil to assess the REEs availability and to evaluate their behaviour in an area affected by anthropogenic impact. REEs soil patterns are used to assess possible anomalies present and even to investigate soil parent material to identify the background values of the study area. The study of REEs involves the analysis of both the exchangeable fraction, which is a bioavailable fraction and is therefore of interest for its correct assessment of environmental impact and the pseudo-total fraction, which is required by Italian Legislative Decree 152/006. The results obtained show significant anomalies, excluding possible anthropogenic contributions to the study area, and confirm a common source for the soils inquired.