English Abstract A pilot study was performed on the applicability of the
equilibrium partitioning concept for deriving quality criteria of heavy
metals for soil and sediment. The following issues are successively
presented: and discussed: (i) principles and present application of the
equilibrium partitioning concept, (ii) derivation of three basic
partitioning models for heavy metals based on sorption, complexation and
precipitation processes, (iii) applications and extensions of these models
for cadmium, and (iv) possibilities of the application of the Acid Volatile
Sulfide (AVS) concept for the derivation of soil and sediment quality
criteria.
