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The PhD thesis investigates the chemical, mineral and morphological properties of solid potential inorganic pollutants and their changes in various environmental media (air emissions, road dust, rainwater, soil, etc.) in the area of former mining and processing of primary minerals and current recycling of secondary minerals in the Upper Mežiška Valley in Slovenia. By identifying different types of lead minerals as the main contaminants in the area, the nature and extent of changes in the physico-chemical properties of individual solid potential inorganic pollutant in different environmental media will be determined and at the same time the processes driving these changes along the transport pathways (atmosphere, precipitation) to the sink (soil, road dust) will be identified. The research will aim to determine whether certain solid potential inorganic pollutant can be used as indicators of pollution sources despite the transformations they undergo during transport. 

Detailed studies of individual environmental media will be carried out, focussing on the identification of individual carriers of potentially toxic elements at the submicron level using inline electron microscopy. As part of the field and laboratory experiments, the pollutants that pose the greatest risk to the health of organisms are also identified at the submicron level.

The results of this research will make an original scientific contribution to the understanding of the material flow of solid potential inorganic pollutants in the environment. They will also assist other researchers, particularly in the fields of geochemistry and environmental mineralogy, in identifying complex assemblages of solid carriers of potentially toxic elements in the environment and in interpreting and evaluating the contributions of their sources.