Mercury contamination from historical mining territory at Malachov Hg-deposit (Central Slovakia)

Introduction and Objective. Contamination of soil by mercury poses several risks to human health through consumption of fruits and vegetables. In Slovakia, a high concentration of mercury is found in the soil of the Central Spiš region. The objective of the study is to measure the mercury concentrations in the parts of selected plant species and trees growing within 100 meters of a former ore processing facility. Materials and Method. A total of 24 samples of plants, 20 samples of parts of needle-leaved trees and 9 samples of parts of broad-leaved trees were collected from soils with a high concentration of mercury. The concentration was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in different parts of the plants: leaves -18 species, roots -15 species, stems -11 species, flowers -7 species), and different parts of trees (crust -8 species, branches -8 species, needles -5 species, cones -5 species, leaves -3 species). Results. The concentrations of mercury in the soils taken at a depth of 0.25 m exceeded the maximum allowed levels more than 50-times. Potatoes, parsley and carrots from these soils exceeded the maximum allowed mercury levels 6-times, 5-times and twice, respectively. The average concentrations of mercury in the roots of 2-year onions exceeded the limit more than 50-times. The flowers of cornflower contain 18.20 mg . kg -1 , leaves of dandelion 10.61 mg . kg -1 and roots of plantain 6.80 mg . kg -1 of mercury. Regarding trees, the highest concentrations were found in the branches of juniper and leaves of aspenmore than 1 mg . kg -1 . Conclusions. The systematic monitoring of mercury is still very important, since it was found that the end of ore processing does not solve the issue of contamination in the Central Spiš region. Therefore, the consumption of fruits and vegetables from the areas of former ore processing facilities is not recommended.

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“…Mercury concentrations of 44.24 mg . kg -1 were described in the soil from the mining area at the Veľká Studňa locality [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury accumulation in plants from contaminated arable lands in Eastern Slovakia

Kimáková¹,

Vargová²,

Onačillová³

et al. 2020

Ann Agric Environ Med.

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“…Most studies regarding contamination of aquatic environment with heavy metals sourced from active or historical mining activities focus on examination of only bottom sediment (Jabłońska-Czapla et al 2016; Dadová et al 2016; Hogarh et al 2016). However, in order to assess other than historical sources of river contamination and to differentiate between historical and present anthropogenic pollution sources, the investigation of suspended particulate matter should also be considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Historical Mining and Smelting Effects on Heavy Metal Pollution of River Systems over Span of Two Decades

Strzebońska

Jarosz‐Krzemińska

Adamiec

2017

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Research was conducted on the most polluted river system in Poland, impacted by active and historical mining. Bottom sediment, suspended particulate matter and river water were collected in 2014 from Przemsza river and its tributaries. Sampling points remained the same as those chosen in a 1995 study. This allowed the comparison of heavy metal accumulation in bottom sediment over a span of almost two decades. It was concluded that Przemsza river water and its tributaries are heavily contaminated with the following (in μg/dm3): Pb (0.99–145.7), Zn (48–5020), and Cd 0.12–12.72). Concentrations of metals in bottom sediment exceeded the background values by a factor of several hundred (100 times for Zn, 150 times for Pb, and 240 times for Cd). The arithmetic mean for metal concentration in fractions <63 μm sampled in 2014 has remained comparable to the level found in 1995 (in mg/kg): Zn 16,918 and 13,505, Pb 4177 and 4758, and Cd 92 and 134. It was determined that 20–50% more metals have accumulated in suspended matter, rather than in bottom sediment (in mg/kg): 20,498 Zn, Pb 5170, and 164 Cd. This exceeds the limits of the most polluted LAWA Class IV classification. Since the concentrations of Zn, Pb, and Cd increase drastically after the outlet of the Przemsza into the Vistula, it was concluded that river Przemsza is the cause of significant degradation of Vistula’s bottom sediment and suspended matter. A two-decade legacy of extremely high contamination of the Przemsza river sediments has persisted despite decreasing mining and smelting activity in the vicinity.

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“…The results show that the soils are contaminated with Hg, Cr and Ni due to the mining of cinnabar and the occurrence of ultrabasic-rock fragments in the conglomerates. Mercury concentrations in these mine soils do not deviate from those in soils from other mine areas with cinnabar mineralization [20, [38][39][40][41][42]. Although the soils were shown to have increased concentrations of the three metals studied, they may not yet represent a risk to the environment because environmental hazards are mainly governed by metal mobility and availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Bottom sediments were shown to be enriched in Hg and Ni, suggesting that they serve as a significant sink for these trace metals [67][68], possibly via sulfidation. Other works from Slovak mine areas with similar Hg mineralization also showed considerable contamination of soils and sediments with Hg but no significant impact on biota and surface water quality in terms of concentrations of this toxic metal [20,41,[69][70][71]. In addition, soil contamination is present only within the former mine area, while Hg concentrations in soils outside the mine area do not exceed the background concentration of 0.08 mg/kg [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Environmental Availability of Trace Metals (Mercury, Chromium and Nickel) in Soils from the Abandoned Mine Area of Merník (Eastern Slovakia)

Hiller¹,

Jurkovič²,

Majzlan³

et al. 2021

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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The former mercury ore deposit of Merník in Eastern Slovakia was selected for the investigation of the environmental availability of mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) in mine soils. Singlestep extractions with four chemical agents (deionised water, ethylenediaminetetraacetic (EDTA), acetic (CH 3 COOH) and hydrochloric (HCl) acid solutions) and chemical analysis of the common nettle (Urtica dioica) were used to determine the availability of the three metals. Regardless of the type of extraction, the soluble ratios of metals in mine soils increased in the order of Hg≤CrCH 3 COOH ≈ EDTA>˃H 2 O. The total or extractable metal concentrations in soil did not correlate with their concentrations in aerial parts of the common nettle, however, its ability to accumulate these trace metals in roots and aerial parts copied the results of extraction tests, i.e. Hg≤Cr

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Mercury contamination from historical mining territory at Malachov Hg-deposit (Central Slovakia)

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

Mercury accumulation in plants from contaminated arable lands in Eastern Slovakia

Mercury accumulation in plants from contaminated arable lands in Eastern Slovakia

Assessing Historical Mining and Smelting Effects on Heavy Metal Pollution of River Systems over Span of Two Decades

Environmental Availability of Trace Metals (Mercury, Chromium and Nickel) in Soils from the Abandoned Mine Area of Merník (Eastern Slovakia)

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