Long-term ongoing impact of arsenic contamination on the environmental compartments of a former mining-metallurgy area

González-Fernández, Beatriz; Rodríguez-Valdés, Eduardo; Boente, Carlos; Menéndez-Casares, E.; Fernández-Braña, A.; Gallego, J.R.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.135

Cited by 48 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Mining activities, especially from unsustainably closed mines (González-Fernández et al, 2018), and accidentally released un-treated effluents or tailings (Cagnin et al, 2017;Saup et al, 2017) represent a major point source of metal(loid) contamination to water bodies and thus affect sediments in the long term (Jain and Das, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geopolymers as active capping materials for in situ remediation of metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments

Kutuniva

Mäkinen

Kauppila

et al. 2019

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

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Metal(loid) contamination in sediments is a widespread environmental issue. Sediments act normally as metal(loid) sinks, but if chemical conditions (such as pH or redox potential) change, they can become sources of secondary pollution. Consequently, various strategies for both in and ex situ remediation of contaminated sediments have been developed. One promising method is active capping, which involves the injection of adsorbents as a layer on the sediment surface or the mixing of adsorbents within the sediment. Adsorbents decrease the bioavailability of metal(loid)s.In the present work, the suitability of alkali-activated blast-furnace-slag, metakaolin geopolymer, and exfoliated vermiculite were evaluated for in situ stabilization of two metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments through laboratory-scale experiments. The results indicated that adsorbent 2 amendments had metal(loid)-specific performance: alkali-activated blast-furnace slag was suitable for Al, Cu, Fe, and Ni; metakaolin geopolymer for Cu, Cr (total), and Fe; and vermiculite for Al and Zn. None of the materials could stabilize Ba, Sr, or Ti. Furthermore, the amendments performed differently in two different lake sediments, implying that the effectiveness of the amendments needs to be confirmed on a case-by-case basis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geopolymers as active capping materials for in situ remediation of metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments

Kutuniva

Mäkinen

Kauppila

et al. 2019

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

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“…This is highly likely in the case of the sites known as La Soterraña [30], El Terronal [16] and their surroundings (Fig. 1a), as a consequence of which the river sediments in the hydrographic basin where these sites are located were also affected [19]. The effects are especially noticeable in the river mouth of the Nalón River, the main river in the region (see e.g., [17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessment of mercury pollution sources in beach sand and coastal soil by speciation analysis

et al. 2019

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Background: An essential requisite for controlling and monitoring mercury in the environment is to identify its species in different types of soils and sediments, as this will help not only to establish its mobility in the environment and ecosystem and the degree of its toxicity, but also to establish the source of contamination. The objective of this work was to identify the origin of mercury in beach sands and soil taken from a coastal region with previously high mining and industrial activity by characterizing the mercury species using the technique known as thermal desorption (HgTPD). Results: Apart from quartz, the main mineral species identified in the raw sands and soil were calcite, fluorite and barite. The concentration of mercury ranges from 5 to 23 µg g −1 , and although it is distributed in different proportions in the function of the size, thermal desorption profiles demonstrated that the mercury species present in the samples do not vary with the mercury concentration and the particle size. By means of HgTPD, mercury oxide (HgO) was identified in the beach sands, whereas mercury sulfide (HgS) was found in the soil sample taken from the vicinity of the beach. Complementary methodologies foster the HgTPD conclusions and verify that mercury is present mostly in insoluble stable (HgS) or low-mobility (HgO) forms in the samples studied. Analyses by ICP-MS after sequential extraction and HPLC separation of mercury species show that inorganic mercury is the predominant form in the samples. Conclusions: The technique HgTPD is a very useful tool to ascertain the origin of mercury in contaminated beach sands and shoreline soils. In the particular area studied in this work, the species identified indicate that previous mining activity was the source of the mercury and rule out the possibility that contamination is derived from coal combustion activities ongoing in the region.

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“…Consequently, the management of mining and mineral-processing waste also raises concerns in terms of recycling and economic strategies for the future [10]. These waste products are generally harmful for environmental compartments because they contain high concentrations of potentially toxic elements [11], thus ruling out their reuse and generating the need for appropriate management. Mine waste is characterized by null edaphological properties [12] and it can often become an environmental concern since it may leach toxic elements such as heavy metal(loid)s [13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reuse of Dunite Mining Waste and Subproducts for the Stabilization of Metal(oid)s in Polluted Soils

et al. 2019

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The circular economy seeks to minimize the use of raw materials and waste generation. In this context, here we addressed the use of dunite mining tailings and subproducts to stabilize metal(oid)s in polluted soils. We first characterized the dunite mining tailings and subproducts, and a paradigmatic polluted soil in depth to determine their chemical and mineralogical properties. Experimental trials using Brassica juncea L. were performed to evaluate the impact of the two materials on vegetation growth, edaphic properties and pollutant stabilization yields. To this end, the plants were grown over 75 days in 1 kg pots containing the polluted soil amended with the dunite materials. Notably, both amendments caused a dramatic decrease in the available Zn and a moderate reduction in available Cu, Cd and Pb. In contrast, the concentration of available As was not modified. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) was improved by treatment with the amendments, allowing an increase in the biomass harvested. The immobilization mechanism achieved was probably due to an increase in pH and CEC. In conclusion, the dunite tailings and subproducts could be effective amendments for stabilizing polluted soil. This work paves the way for additional studies with distinct types of soils and conditions.

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Long-term ongoing impact of arsenic contamination on the environmental compartments of a former mining-metallurgy area

Cited by 48 publications

References 24 publications

Geopolymers as active capping materials for in situ remediation of metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments

Geopolymers as active capping materials for in situ remediation of metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments

Assessment of mercury pollution sources in beach sand and coastal soil by speciation analysis

Reuse of Dunite Mining Waste and Subproducts for the Stabilization of Metal(oid)s in Polluted Soils

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