| Summary: | The aim of the study was to examine the content of pesticide residue in soil adherent to the railway track down to the depth of 2 m below ground. The two lines selected for the examination differed in properties determining pesticide content. To assess the scale of influence of the chemical treatment applied, the selected lines were outside intensive farming areas. The examination consisted of testing the content of 2.4-D, MCPA, carbofuran and atrazine using liquid chromatography, and the content of phenol, cresols, DDT/DDE/DDD, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin and HCH using gas chromatography. The content of 2.4-D, MCPA and phenol was below 0.01 mg·kg−1, cresols – below 0.03 mg·kg−1, DDT/DDE/DDD – below 0.024 mg·kg−1, aldrin and dieldrin – below 0.004 mg·kg−1, endrin – below 0.005 mg·kg−1, carbofuran and atrazine – below 0.02 mg·kg−1, ΣHCH – below 0.017 mg·kg−1. The content of pesticide residue in soils along the examined railway lines is lower than that found in arable soils in Poland. No differences in the content of pesticide residue were found between the soils underneath the modernised railway line and the one which had been in use without major alterations to the upper layers for many years. The study found no evidence of any influence of chemical plant removal from railway lines on adjacent lands.
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