Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the article (Myazin, V., Vasenev, V., Korneykova, M., Karmanovskaya, N., & Sotnikova, Y. (2025). Assessing Urban Soils in the Norilsk Industrial Region Based on Heavy Metal and Petroleum Product Pollution Indices. Land, 14(11), 2199) that you mentioned in your email of 19th May 2026.

All conclusions in this article are based on data regarding the background concentrations of heavy metals. However, background concentrations in soils are unknown for the Norilsk Industrial District. These values could have been determined before the start of industrial development of the area.

Measuring metal concentrations in adjacent areas that are not affected by existing pollution sources is inappropriate as these areas are not comparable to the Norilsk Industrial District in terms of the combination of factors. The latter is unique in its geological structure and is characterized by very high natural variation in metal content in soils — particularly for copper and nickel — ranging from tens to thousands of mg/kg (the presence of geochemical anomalies in the area is confirmed by the Resolution in the attachment).

The article uses data on the total content of heavy metals. This form poorly reflects the ecological hazard posed by elevated metal levels. A more informative indicator is the content of the water‑soluble form (as confirmed by the Resolution in the attachment), which was not used in this study.

Referencing hygienic standards for heavy metal content is inappropriate as these standards were developed for different soil‑geochemical conditions. The study applies standards intended for populated (urban) areas, while the Norilsk District is an industrial area where the baseline levels may be higher than federal hygienic standards due to ore occurrences and geochemical anomalies.

The assessment of soil contamination in urban areas based on lead content can be considered relatively appropriate, as lead is not typical for this region. In terms of this metal, contamination can be classified as low to moderate.

The median value (using mean values without testing for normality of distribution is inappropriate) of petroleum hydrocarbon content in soils nearly matches the background concentration in the region — 252 mg/kg — except for the central district (Yearbook Soil Contamination of the Russian Federation with Industrially Derived Toxicants, 2021 (in Russian: Ежегодник «Загрязнение почв Российской Федерации токсикантами промышленного происхождения в 2021 году»).