Speciation of toxic pollutants in Pb/Zn smelter slags by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy in the context of the literature.

Pb/Zn smelter slag is a hazardous industrial waste from the Imperial Smelting Process (ISP). The speciation of zinc, lead, copper and arsenic in the slag controls their recovery or fate in the environment but has been little investigated. X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) was applied to this complex poorly crystalline material for the first time to gain new insights about speciation of elements at low concentration.