University of Silesia in Katowice

1. Analysis of historical sources about non-ferrous metallurgy. Demographic analysis based on parish registers and civil status records until 1918. A query, collection, and analysis of documents and sources on cultural heritage.
2. Interviews with people who witnessed the period of the smelter’s impact on the environment and human health from Szopienice: e.g. with J. Wadowska-Król, Prof. K. Karczewska.
3. Analysis of social data connected to the operation of the smelter plant in Szopienice. Collecting documents from the police, social aid institutions and Katowice City Hall. Mapping of social issues.
4. Analysis of changes in spatial-functional development in the Szopienice region. Obtaining databases, e.g. PESEL, GUNB.
5. Recognition of hydrographic conditions and water balance in the Rawa river basin.
6. Construction of a geoportal for the Rawa river basin, taking into account landscape changes resulting from anthropopressure. The system will include the following layers: topographical map, orthophoto map, geological map, hydrological map, and LiDAR imagining.
7. Verification of the possibility of using the technique of near-infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging for fast monitoring of heavy metals content in soils within the area of the smelter impact.
8. Phytosociological mapping (Hubertus pond and heaps) to show the changes in plant coat under the influence of anthropopressure and to identify indicator plants for soil pollution.
9. Analysis of the physicochemical variability of waters, intervention monitoring of Rawa river. Analyses of photosynthesis efficiency, soil analysis based on bioindication studies, micro-arthropods, QBS, bacterial biodiversity analysis, metagenome, water and phytoplankton quality analyses, data from multi-parameter and ecotoxicological probes.
10. Analysis of annual growth in width of and concentration of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, copper) in individual tree rings growing in the area impacted by Szopienice smelter’s operation.
11. Analyses of heavy metal concentrations in soil and sediments. Setting up preparations and BSE/EDS testing on scanning microscopes.

The research on the soundscape created today and in the past in selected areas along the Rawa river (including the audio sphere of Szopienice) is underway. The soundscape can provide information about the ecological condition of the river itself, its appeal for artistic events in the social space and the potential of urban planning. Questions were asked about the quality of the audio sphere by the Rawa River, and whether the soundscape is a wishful and imaginary landscape or an authentic one.

The research on the soundscape created today and in the past in selected areas along the Rawa river (including the audio sphere of Szopienice) is underway. The soundscape can provide information about the ecological condition of the river itself, its appeal for artistic events in the social space and the potential of urban planning. Questions were asked about the quality of the audio sphere by the Rawa River, and whether the soundscape is a wishful and imaginary landscape or an authentic one.

Research on geochemical and mineralogical soil tests is ongoing in Szopienice within the area of the former Uthemans smelter, Wilhelmina (a former labour district), ul. Szabelniania, the region of Hubertus pond and the neighbourhood of Non-ferrous Metal Smelter. The goal of the research is to identify metalliferous minerals with potentially toxic elements in its structure (such as lead, zinc, cadmium, thallium, iron, manganese, arsenic, antimony); in an irregular grid, several dozens of samples were taken from the topsoil layers (0-0.3m).

1. The samples will be tested using ICP-ES/MS methods in order to mark the elements identified. Bureau Veritas Laboratory in Canada, in accordance with the procedures, for example, MA 270, MA250 and the Laboratory of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

2. Tests using Thermo Scientific Quanta 250 scanning microscope in the Laboratory of the Institute of Earth Sciences. Analysing BSE images and EDS spectra will let us identify the metalliferous phases. BSE/EDS image of the post-smelter phase. (According to Cabała et al. 2021)

3. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) testing methods by using Philips PW 3710 diffractometer (the Laboratory of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Institute of Earth Sciences) will let us identify the mineral composition of the soil.

Research is underway to trace the paths of industrialisation and urbanisation of two districts of contemporary Katowice: Roździeń and Szopienice, the fates of which are tied to coal mining and zinc metallurgy and a text describing the impact of industrialisation on the environment and spatial changes associated with progressive urbanisation is being prepared. Historical research will also address the problem of the state institution and its impact on the conditions of the industry. The state institution’s impact has been already seen even before the production of zinc began. This concerns the operating conditions of the main producer – Georg von Giesche’s Erben company, which dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. We also plan to collect and analyse data regarding the lifespan of citizens of Roździeń and Szopienice, based on parish and civil registration records.

The analysis of the changes in the use of land in Szopienice and Roździeń in a dynamic perspective is underway. The industrialisation of the part of Upper Silesia that relied on zinc and lead metallurgy has shaped a quite specific, functionally heterogeneous area of the modern urban conurbation. The research is focused on key determinants of the shaping of this area and the planning and strategic challenges facing this part of contemporary Katowice.

The literary research on Szopienice and the Rawa river is underway. Here is its excerpt: “Rawa is a river after the end of the world – it has lost the battle with humanity and it was turned into sewage. However, even the world of industrial revolution, which has destroyed it, has been destroyed as well and turned into a ruin. Currently, Rawa is a remnant of heroic struggles of the modern world. It may be a living monument of Anthropocene, even though the life around it returns slowly and tentatively. It will be a monument stretched for almost twenty kilometres, whose initial sections are marked by sewage pipes, a spectral (non)presence in Świętochłowice and Chorzów, silent disguise between ponds or a simulated presence in the market square in Katowice. These various types of (non)presence of the river might be a sign referring to the complicated history of industrial revolution, which changes rivers into sewage, earth into a desert.”

The initial results of biological research are intriguing. Here is an excerpt: “Contaminated places may be regarded as reservoirs of native plants that tolerate and bioaccumulate heavy metals in various ranges. Native plant species that colonise such areas first may be valuable bioindicators and bio-accumulators of heavy metals in these areas. Plants capable of colonising both contaminated and uncontaminated environments with heavy metals are dubbed by biologists pseudometallophytes, as opposed to total (obligate) metallophytes found only in metal-enriched areas. Metallophytes colonising soils rich in heavy metals are plants adapted to live in the presence of high concentrations of such metals, but also to harsh habitat conditions.”

Sociological research is underway on reconstruction of life experiences of Szopienice residents in the post-war period connected to living in the area contaminated by lead and working in the non-ferrous metal smelter. In the research, particular importance is attached to the experience of “lead children”. The point of interest is the collective memory of the Szopienice citizens about life in the shadow of a smelter. For this purpose, interviews with people living in Szopienice are conducted.

The research with the use of spectroscopic techniques such as visible light and near-infrared spectroscopy for rapid monitoring of soil conditions is underway. In addition, a hyperspectral imaging approach is being implemented for effective monitoring of soil quality, using remote mode measurements, i.e. allowing drones to monitor a selected area from the air. Based on spectroscopic fingerprints of cultivated soils and soils from contaminated areas (in particular), the level of selected heavy metals (e.g. Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni), Mg, N, P, K, organic matter, pH, or other relevant parameters are estimated.