Analysis of the airborne mercury and particulate arsenic levels close to an abandoned waste dump and buildings of a mercury mine and the potential risk of atmospheric pollution

Abstract

The project SUBproducts4LIFE is a research project financed by the European Union within the framework of the LIFE programme which proposes to demonstrate innovative circular economy concepts by the reuse of industrial subproducts/waste (coal ash and gypsum from coal power plants, blast furnace slag and steelmaking slag from steel factories) for the remediation at a real scale of contaminated soils and brownfield areas related to Hg mining. The area it is developing includes the waste dumps and demolition waste of the metallurgical plant of the abandoned mercury mine La Soterraña in Asturias, Northern Spain. Before this restoration research project takes place, this paper aims to evaluate airborne mercury and arsenic levels in land strongly contaminated with arsenic and mercury. The goal is to evaluate the air quality and compare it with international literature under reference levels. The study sampled gaseous mercury with a high-resolution direct reading device (LUMEX RA-915) and arsenic and mercury particulates with an IOM sampler, Casella personal pump, analyzed in the laboratory, to ensure the Health and Safety of workers, visitors and pedestrians walking near the mine and near the villages. The study concludes that As and Hg levels in the air are below 1 μg/m3 for the general public and villages near the mine. For works in the rubble area in the mine, it is recommended that workers use personal protective equipment and control measures are used to keep arsenic and mercury levels as low as technically possible. Article Highlights Gaseous Hg and airborne Hg and As particulates are measured in a strongly contaminated mercury mining and metallurgy site. High concentration of gaseous Hg is present in the strongly contaminated soils; therefore protective measures must be adopted for workers. Apart from an area with demolition rubble of a metallurgical plant, airborne Hg-As contamination is not harmful to workers or the general public.

Empirical Model of Gaseous Mercury Emissions for the Analysis of Working Conditions in Outdoor Highly Contaminated Sites

“…Some side effects of exposure include memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches, cognitive and motor dysfunction, tremors, and insomnia. Some forms of mercury have been shown to cause a variety of tumors in rats and mice at extremely high concentrations [24][25][26].…”

Tackling Arsenic and Mercury Contamination: Implications for Sustainable Mining and Occupational Health Risks

“…Arsenic and mercury concentrations in airborne dust were collected using a personal pump calibrated to 2 lpm equipped with an IOM sampler and utilizing a Mixed Cellulose Ester (MCE) membrane filter substrate. The collected filters underwent digestion and analysis using ICP-MS, as outlined by García-González et al [27]. Airborne mercury was further measured using the continuous monitoring analyser Lumex RA-915 with representative samples from each area, following the procedure described by Rodriguez et al [28].…”

“…Regarding the concentration of As and Hg in suspended dust, it is worth noting that very little dust is generated at this site. Measurements conducted in the area yielded an airborne dust concentration ranging from 0.08 to 0.15 mg/m 3 [27].…”

“…As a result, the measurements of arsenic and mercury in airborne dust were also low. As described by García et al [27], three measurement campaigns were carried out: in the demolition debris area, in a nearby area, and in the upper waste dump area. No further control campaigns were deemed necessary, so these measurements are considered for the data in the calculations according to Table 6.…”

Assessment of NOx Levels in an Underground Hospital Car Park: Implications for Occupational and Environmental Health

“…This approach allows for the discernment of the temporal trends in NO and NO 2 concentrations at the site, providing valuable insights into how these concentrations vary over time. Maintaining adherence to recommended standards for both environmental and occupational measurements [43,44], all measurements were consistently taken at a height of 1.5 m above ground level [45].…”