Assessment of soil heavy metal pollution in a former mining area - before and after the end of mining activities

Abstract

Demková L., Jezný T., Bobuľská L. (2017): Assessment of soil heavy metal pollution in a former mining area -before and after the end of mining activities. Soil & Water Res., 12: 229−236.Toxicity and persistence of heavy metals, which are accumulated in the environment as the result of diverse industrial activities, represent serious environmental problem worldwide. The intense mineral extraction in mining areas has produced a large amount of waste material and tailings, which release toxic elements to the environment. The aim of the study was to determine in two time horizons (1997, 2015) the heavy metal contents of samples derived from ten sampling sites located in the former mining area of Central Spiš (Slovakia). In order to compare the level of contamination, the contamination factor (C i f ), degree of contamination (C d ), and pollution load index (PLI) were computed. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used in order to detect the relationships among heavy metals. A serious situation was found for Hg, Zn, and Cd, which exceeded limit values at all sampling sites within both studied years. In 1997, the average values of contamination factor have shown very high contamination with all studied heavy metals, and moderate contamination with Co. In 2015, the study area was classified as very highly contaminated with As, Hg, Zn, Cu, considerably contaminated with Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cd, while Co contamination was not detected. Since 1997 till 2015 the pollution load index decreased by about 38%, nevertheless even then almost all sampling sites were classified as heavily polluted. Despite the fact that mining activities were stopped or limited at the beginning of the 21 st century, the presence of heavy metals in soils remains at a serious level. The high level of contamination is a result of heavy metal persistence and non-biodegradability.

The pollution indices of trace elements in soils and plants close to the copper and zinc smelting works in Poland’s Lower Silesia

“…Due to a similar type of industrial activity (copper ore processing) and the use of the individual (C f ) and complex (C d , mC d , PLI) contamination indices by Demková et al (2016), we can compare the level of contamination of studied areas in Poland with the area of mining and processing of copper and mercury in Central Spiš in Slovak Republic. The authors used the contamination indices to compare the soil pollution degree in 1997 and 2015.…”

Evaluation of Soil Contamination in Mining Areas of Rwanda

“…Mining and subsequent ore-processing activities are always associated with very high levels of heavy metal contamination of the environment [33,8]. Barkouch [34] declared that with a value greater than 1, it indicates that the analyzed sample had a metallic contamination caused by human activities (mining activities).…”

“…The impacts of mining activities for instance, can create problems for ecosystems functioning [6]. Without proper management, active or abandoned mines and tailings are the source of heavy metals, which are washed out by precipitation and can contaminate all environmental components [7,8].…”

Trace Elements in the Soil-Plant Systems of Copper Mine Areas-A Case Study From Murgul Copper Mine From the Black Sea Region of Turkey

“…Mining of minerals and metals is known from ancient times and has been the key force for industrial and economic development of societies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. However, this activity has generated huge amounts of waste in the form of tailings [7][8][9]. Abandoned underground and surface mining have resulted in untreated wastes forming spoil heaps, which remain at old metal mine sites and are one of the sources of heavy metal contamination in the environment [6,7,10].…”

“…Significant heavy metal concentrations have been detected around the copper mine areas where dispersion of copper, lead and zinc has occurred downstream the mine workings, affecting waters, soils and vegetation. Metal concentrations in the soils around these mines depict the long working life of the mines [8,9,30]. Generally abandoned mine tailings are left without any proper management, and therefore are unstable and prone to wind and water erosion, as well as to acid mine drainage [31][32][33].…”