Accumulation of heavy metals in the soil – plant system in areas with the developed mining industry

Abstract

Introduction. The proximity of mining enterprises to settlements contributes to the pollution of the soil cover with heavy metals. Crops grown in garden plots accumulate chemical elements and are an intermediate link in the “soil - plant - human” chain. Purpose of the work. Assessment of the level of anthropogenic load on the territory adjacent to the mining enterprise, based on the study of the translocation of metals in the soil - plant system. Materials and methods. For the purpose of hygienic assessment of the chemical composition of the soil and vegetable products grown on it, the content of 7 microelements was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. With the help of the coefficient of concentration of a chemical substance (Kc) and the total indicator of pollution (Zc), the level of chemical contamination of soils was determined. Using the total coefficient of anthropogenic load (Ka.n. = ∑Ci/PDUi), the territory was ranked according to the contamination of vegetables with toxic elements. The rate of accumulation of metals by vegetable crops was assessed by the coefficient of biological absorption (Ax) and the index of biochemical activity of the species (BAS). Results. The soil cover in the district is contaminated with a complex of metals, the content of gross forms of which exceeds the MPC by up to 1.9 times, mobile - up to 4.6 times. At a distance of up to 5 km around the mining enterprise, the maximum indicators of the total soil pollution (Zc = 44-65) have been established. Lead and zinc are elements of “biological accumulation” for all types of studied vegetable products grown in the zone of influence of the mining enterprise; cadmium is additionally concentrated in beets and carrots, and nickel in carrots. In vegetable samples, exceeding the permissible levels of cadmium and lead was noted. The most significant accumulation of heavy metals was found in the southern, southeastern, northern and northwestern directions from emissions. Conclusion. To eliminate the toxic effects of heavy metals in vegetables produced in the zone of influence of mining enterprises, it is recommended to include additional monitoring of nickel and zinc content in the social and hygienic monitoring system.

Spatial distribution of elements, environmental effects, and economic potential of waste from the Aksu ferroalloy plant [Kazakhstan]

“…Our study aims to reveal the elemental content of ground samples taken from different locations of the ash-slag storage of AFP, study also attempts to find an automatic method for finding the distribution of the elements in the production waste, and, finally, the study wants to assess environmental risks and economic potential by calculating the average elemental content, as well as the total pollution coefficient [23][24][25][26], calculating the approximate volume of the waste remaining in the storage, calculating the approximate amounts of the element reserves deposited in the studied technogenic object.…”

“…When studying the environmental aspects of technogenic objects, it is necessary to determine the degree of effect on human health, the use of green solutions and the potential for tourism development [29][30][31][32]. Two obvious assessment methods are to determine the average excess concentration of heavy metals over the level of maximum permissible concentrations [MPC] in the ground and to calculate the total pollution coefficient Zc [23][24][25][26].…”