Origin of recalcitrant heavy metals present in olive mill wastewater evaporation ponds and nearby agricultural soilsOrigin of recalcitrant heavy metals present in olive mill wastewater evaporation ponds and nearby agricultural soils Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2015-11-022011enThe present study attempts to elucidate the origin of recalcitrant heavy metals, namely Cr, Ni, and Mo, present in olive mill wastewater (OMW) evaporation ponds and nearby agricultural soils. Steel corrosion tests were carried out using several types of alloys (316L, 316, 304, and St 37-2) while sludge and soil samples were collected from the walls of active and inactive OMW evaporation ponds as well as from nearby soils and analyzed in order to elucidate the presence of heavy metals of interest. Experimental results prove that corrosion of high quality steels is extremely limited and is mainly caused in solutions characterized by high chloride concentration. It is therefore assumed that the presence of recalcitrant heavy metals in soils is the result of past (between 1970 and 2000) olive oil milling activities when inferior quality steel equipment was used.Δημοσίευση σε επιστημονικό περιοδικό http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Environmental Forensics412319-326 Komnitsas Konstantinos Κομνιτσας Κωνσταντινος Zaharaki Dimitra Doula Maria Kavvadias Victor Taylor & Francis olive mill wastes steel corrosion heavy metals soils