# Risk Elements in Total Suspended Particles in Areas Affected by Opencast Mining of Brown Coal
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Element Contents in the Deposited TSP
(**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 4: The cadmium contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point. (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 5: The cobalt contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 6: The chromium contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 7: The copper contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 8: The manganese contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 9: The lead contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). Figure 10: The vanadium contents in suspended particles according to the individual sampling point (**a**), sampling year (**b**), and season of the year (**c**); the boxes marked by the same letter did not significantly differ at \(p<0.05\). [PERSON] et al. [51] tried to identify the main sources of risk elements in the resuspended street dust at several locations characterized by opencast coal mining, smelting activities, and ironworks in South Africa. They identified three main pollution sources: road traffic (responsible for enhanced concentrations of Cu, Pb, Sb, and Sn), the metal smelting industry (contributing to Fe, Co, Mn, and V), and fly ash associated with the coal-fired power plants (\(\sim\)1000-1000). The main pollution sources are located at the same location as the main pollution sources. (contributing Al, Sr, and Li as the highest risk elements). [PERSON] et al. [52] summarized the risk elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn) in selected cities in China. They confirmed the existence of various hotspots and reported elevated element contents in the soil. Their research proves the significant contribution of the metallurgical and mining industries to the pollution of urban soil. In this study, no hotspots were identified in the investigated areas, and opencast coal mining most probably dominates all the potential point sources of pollution in the investigated areas. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [53] reviewed As content variability in individual coal basins globally, and declared the coal basins in the Czech Republic to be enriched in As content. Similarly, elevated elemental contents were found by [PERSON] et al. [26] in the soils around the vicinity of the largest coal mine spoil in the area. The impact of long-term coal mining and combustion on elevated risk elements and their pollution in the whole area was presented by [PERSON] et al. [43]. However, the potential impact of dense traffic should also be considered. For instance, [PERSON] et al. [54] focused on the occurrence of PM deposition in three locations in France, where they collected elevated PM depositions at a distance up to 100 m from the highway. Similarly, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [55] observed decreasing soil contents of Al, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, and Pb up to 150 m from the roadside.