Incorporating oral bioaccessibility into human health risk assessment due to potentially toxic elements in extractive waste and contaminated soils from an abandoned mine site

Mehta, Neha; Cipullo, Sabrina; Cocerva, Tatiana; Coulon, Frédéric; Dino, Giovanna Antonella; Ajmone-Marsan, Franco; Padoan, Elio; Cox, Siobhan; Cave, Mark; Luca, Domenico Antonio De

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126927

Cited by 41 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…This result could have been due to the diversity of the mining debris scattered along the studied area during the different mining phases, where different separation methods could have produced Zn particles of different sizes. This hypothesis is confirmed by a study done in a nearby mining area, where the mineralogy of rocks, mine tailings and of one sample of soil were studied (Mehta et al 2020b). In that soil, near to the waste deposits, Zn was found in many different forms in the same sample: as zinc oxide, in a Cu-Fe-Zn-S phase, as hemimorphite, sphalerite, smithsonite, and embedded in clay minerals (Zn-K-Mg-Si).…”

Section: Size Fractionation and Bioaccessibility In Plassamentioning

confidence: 53%

“…by the BCR protocol, Rauret et al 2000) are used to describe the status of toxic metals in a contaminated soil. However, these data provide only limited information on the metal mobility and may overestimate the exposure, thereby influencing risk assessment outcome and remediation choices (Bakircioglu et al 2011;Mehta et al 2019;Mehta et al 2020b;Reis et al 2014;Ruby et al 1999). Not all metal species are equally mobile and absorbed by organisms, as the solubility largely depends on the chemical species and the size of the soil particles to which the elements are associated (Pascaud et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioaccessibility of metals in soils surrounding two dismissed mining sites in Northern Italy

Padoan

Romè

Mehta

et al. 2020

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Mining activities are one of the main contributors to metals contamination of soils, most often due to the inappropriate management of the mining residues. In Italy, hundreds of small mining sites are scattered around the mountainous areas, near small villages with fragile environments. Here, wastes and residues may have polluted the surrounding soils and become a threat to living organisms. We investigated two dismissed sites in Northern Italy with extractive wastes in unmanaged areas close to villages using bioaccessibility and size fractionation methods, focussing on particles that can potentially be eroded and/or ingested (< 10 µm and < 200 µm). In the Campello Monti site, Co, Cu and Ni showed high values in soils near the landfills, with the highest concentrations in the < 10 µm particles around the landfills and along the valley bottom. Lead and Ni were the most bioaccessible metals. In the Plassa site, Cd and Zn were the most important contaminants, with an average content of 118 and 34,000 mg/kg. They originated from mining wastes scattered through the slope and had a particularly high bioaccessible fractions, close to the 100% for Zn and above 80% for Cd in the fine particles. The study of the fine, more reactive and mobile particles offered a close insight into the lability of contaminants, as in both sites, a dispersion of metal contaminants through very fine particles in surrounding and downhill areas was observed, resulting in an increased risk to all living organism and for the environment.

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Section: Size Fractionation and Bioaccessibility In Plassamentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioaccessibility of metals in soils surrounding two dismissed mining sites in Northern Italy

Padoan

Romè

Mehta

et al. 2020

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Its primary mineralization includes sphalerite (ZnS) and galena (PbS), with minor occurrence of pyrite (FeS 2 ), marcasite (FeS 2 ), chalcopyrite (CuFeS 2 ), and argentite (Ag 2 S) (Dino et al 2018). As the secondary mineralization, composed of oxidation products of sphalerite, was preferred for ore exploitation, the rocks containing sphalerite and galena were separated and placed outside the tunnels, forming waste rock dumps spread across the whole district (Dino et al 2018;Mehta et al 2020). The waste rock dumps have not been remediated after the conclusion of the mining activities.…”

Section: Study Area and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following previous characterization studies (Padoan et al 2020;Mehta et al 2020), we selected and sampled two soil samples representative of the slope. The soils also were selected in view of their similarity in organic carbon and Fe content and their difference in pH and presence of carbonates.…”

Section: Study Area and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Release of Zinc and Cadmium From Mine-Affected Soils Under Flooding, a Mesocosm Study

Padoan

Kath

Vahl

et al. 2020

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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Metal-contaminated mining soils pose serious environmental and health risks if not properly managed, especially in mountainous areas, which are more susceptible to perturbation. Currently, climate change is leading to more frequent and intense rain events, which cause flooding episodes, thereby altering soil redox equilibria and contaminants stability. We evaluated the potential release of Zn and Cd (two of the most common inorganic contaminants) and the factors regulating their solubility and speciation in two heavily contaminated soils representative of a Zn-mining area. The soils were flooded under aerobic (for 24 h) and anaerobic (for 62 days) conditions using mesocosm experiments, sequential extractions, and geochemical modelling. Leaching trials under aerobic conditions showed a high release of Zn and Cd (10 times the legislative limits), with metals possibly migrating via water infiltration or runoff. Under anaerobic conditions Zn and Cd were initially released. Then, solution concentrations decreased gradually (Zn) or sharply (Cd) until the end of the experiment. Sequential extractions and multisurface modelling indicated that both metals precipitated mainly as carbonates. This was confirmed by a geochemical multisurface modelling, which also predicted the formation of sulphides after 60 days in one soil. The model calculated metals to be preferentially complexed by organic matter and well predicted the observed soil solution concentrations. The results showed that during flooding episodes contaminants could be promptly transferred to other environmental compartments. The use of multisurface modelling coupled with laboratory experiments provided useful indications on the potential release and speciation in case of anoxic conditions.

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Abandoned mines are considered among the most severe of environmental issues, and are a significant danger to environmental, animal, and human health (Mehta et al, 2020). To date, ~ 600,000 abandoned mines exist, the costly reclamation of which often falls to publicly funded bodies (Archer & Caldwell, 2004;Mayes et al, 2009).

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confidence: 99%

The development of a surrogate soil to assist the revegetation and stabilisation of metal-mine tailings

De-Quincey¹

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Abandoned mines are considered among the most severe of environmental issues, and are a significant danger to environmental, animal, and human health (Mehta et al., 2020). To date, ~ 600,000 abandoned mines exist, the costly reclamation of which often falls to publicly funded bodies (Archer & Caldwell, 2004; Mayes et al., 2009). Traditional reclamation methods are financially unattainable at ~ £50 million per large mine (McKenna, 2002), and an alternative, lower-cost method is required (Garcia, 2008). One contemporary reclamation method found to be effective is that of capping mine waste with a soil cover (O’Kane & Ayres, 2012). In this research, an adhesive surrogate soil capping layer for the hydraulic application to steep-sided metal-mine tailings was developed at the cost of ~ £6 .m-² (at the time of writing). The surrogate soil was refined throughout a series of trials. A rainfall trial was conducted to develop an adhesive and erosion resistant soil material. A germination trial (N = 500) determined the soil materials which best assisted rapid plant establishment. The successful results of these laboratory-based trials guided a nine-month field trial on an abandoned Pb mine, Nantymwyn (UK) (N = 154). The field trial concluded that the surrogate soils effectively resisted erosion and supported the early (seven month) growth of metal-tolerant grass species. The grasses contained Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu concentrations at < 1% of the phytotoxic threshold. However, seasonal climatic events and a negative water balance ultimately led to complete grass mortality after nine months. Tailings bank destabilisation also influenced grass survival. The research revealed that the soil’s available water supply was of greater impact to plant survival than metal toxicity. The results indicated that should the soils water-holding capacity be improved, the application of a carefully designed surrogate soil has the potential to support vegetative cover on steep, bare metal-mine tailings.

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Incorporating oral bioaccessibility into human health risk assessment due to potentially toxic elements in extractive waste and contaminated soils from an abandoned mine site

Abstract: Incorporating oral bioaccessibility into human health risk assessment due to potentially toxic elements in extractive waste and contaminated soils from an abandoned mine site.

Cited by 41 publications

References 80 publications

Bioaccessibility of metals in soils surrounding two dismissed mining sites in Northern Italy

Bioaccessibility of metals in soils surrounding two dismissed mining sites in Northern Italy

Potential Release of Zinc and Cadmium From Mine-Affected Soils Under Flooding, a Mesocosm Study

The development of a surrogate soil to assist the revegetation and stabilisation of metal-mine tailings

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