Oral and inhalation bioaccessibility of potentially toxic elements in household dust from former Hg mining district, Idrija, Slovenia

Mining is an essential activity for obtaining materials necessary for the well-being and development of society. However, this activity produces important environmental impacts that must be controlled. More specifically, there are different soils near new or abandoned mining productions that have been contaminated with potentially toxic elements, and currently represent an important environmental problem. In this research, a contaminated soil from the mining district of Linares was studied for its use as a raw material for the conforming of ceramic materials, bricks, dedicated to construction. Firstly, the contaminated soil was chemically and physically characterized in order to evaluate its suitability. Subsequently, different families of samples were conformed with different percentages of clay and contaminated soil. Finally, the conformed ceramics were physically and mechanically characterized to examine the variation produced in the ceramic material by the incorporation of the contaminated soil. In addition, in this research, leachate tests were performed according to the TCLP method determining whether encapsulation of potentially toxic elements in the soil occurs. The results showed that all families of ceramic materials have acceptable physical properties, with a soil percentage of less than 80% being acceptable to obtain adequate mechanical properties and a maximum of 70% of contaminated soil to obtain acceptable leachate according to EPA regulations. Therefore, the maximum percentage of contaminated soil that can be incorporated into the ceramic material is 70% in order to comply with all standards. Consequently, this research not only avoids the contamination that contaminated soil can produce, but also valorizes this element as a raw material for new materials, avoiding the extraction of clay and reducing the environmental impact.

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Environmental Threats of Ancient Pb Mining and Metallurgical Activities in the Linares Mining District (Southern Spain)

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2231459 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (23) ◽

pp. 1459

Author(s):

Carlos Boente ◽

Carlos Sierra ◽

Julián Martínez ◽

Eduardo Rodríguez-Valdés ◽

Elías Afif ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Mining District ◽

Land Uses ◽

Environmental Threats ◽

Industrial Sites ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Insight Into ◽

Metallurgical Activities

Former industrial sites are now dedicated to other land uses in the Linares mining district. Here we selected five residential/farming areas (squares of 1 km2 each) and sought to evaluate the levels of contamination by Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) of the soils, and also to offer an insight into the threat these pollutants may pose to human health or the environment by means of risk assessment. High concentrations especially of Pb, and also of As, Cd, Cu and Zn were found in quantities that are considerably bioavailable. Moreover, risk assessment revealed unacceptable concentrations for Pb and As in all the areas as well as for Cd and Cu in some squares.

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Surficial geochemistry and bioaccessibility of tellurium in semiarid mine tailings

Environmental Chemistry ◽

10.1071/en18215 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 251 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sarah M. Hayes ◽

Nicole A. Ramos

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Mine Tailings ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Health Concern ◽

Mining District ◽

Critical Element ◽

Preliminary Assessment ◽

High Degree ◽

X Ray Absorption

Environmental contextTellurium can be more toxic than arsenic, but its fate in the surficial environment is poorly understood. We studied tellurium behaviour in semiarid mine tailings and found that most tellurium is associated with iron (oxy)hydroxides as tellurate (TeVI), the less toxic oxidation state. Iron (oxy)hydroxides are likely to control the fate of Te in the surficial environment and may effectively sequester Te oxyanions released by oxidative weathering. AbstractTellurium (Te) is a critical element owing to its use in solar technology. However, some forms are highly toxic. Few studies have examined Te behaviour in the surficial environment, thus little is known about its potential human and environmental health impacts. This study characterises two physicochemically distinct Te-enriched mine tailings piles (big and flat tailings) deposited by historic gold (Au) mining in the semiarid Delamar mining district, Nevada, USA. The big tailings are characterised by smaller particle size and higher concentrations of potentially toxic elements (up to 290mgTekg−1), which are enriched at the tailings surface. In contrast, the flat tailings have larger particle size and properties that are relatively invariant with depth. Based on the sulfate to sulfide ratio, the tailings were determined to be sulfate dominated, which suggested a high degree of weathering, although the flat tailings did contain significant amounts of sulfides (~40%). Tellurium X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the big tailings indicates that tellurate, the less toxic Te species, is the principal form of Te. Electron microscopy indicates that most of the Te present at the site is associated with iron (oxy)hydroxides, and sometimes with other potentially toxic elements, especially lead and antimony. Physiologically-based extraction tests indicate that substantially more Te is solubilised in synthetic stomach fluids than in lung fluids, with gastric bioaccessibility ranging from 13 to 31% of total Te. This points to low to medium bioaccessibility, which is common for iron (oxy)hydroxide-associated elements. Together, these results represent a preliminary assessment of Te surficial behaviour in a semiarid environment and indicate that Te in these tailings represent a moderate health concern.

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Temperate forest bird communities associated with a historic mining impact area: do tailing remnant effects modify their structure?

Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia ◽

10.1007/bf03544453 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 94-107

Author(s):

Katia Lemus ◽

José Fernando Villaseñor-Gómez ◽

Francisco Roberto Pineda-Huerta ◽

Javier Salgado-Ortiz

Keyword(s):

Toxic Elements ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bird Community ◽

Control Site ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Bird Communities ◽

Feeding Guilds ◽

Mining District ◽

Ecological Processes

AbstractBirds contribute to the stability of ecosystems and represent a tool used to evaluate a variety of anthropogenic impacts. The area known as El Oro-Tlalpujahua Mining District in central Mexico was subjected to significant environmental impacts as a result of ore extraction, including profound habitat transformations, landscape changes, and the accumulation of potentially toxic elements in their tailings (favoring its bioavailability and dispersion). After more than 60 years without extractive activities, there is no knowledge on extant remaining impacts on biological communities. Assuming the presence of negative impacts on birds, we compared the composition and abundance of bird communities in two locations, representing a site without exposure to tailings (S1) and another one with tailings deposition (S2). From June 2014 to June 2015, we recorded 2828 individuals of 108 avian species in 369 point counts (S1 = 91, S2 = 95). The Chao1 indicator suggested we recorded 96% of the species present. We found a high similarity in the general composition and abundance of bird species between communities (> 85%). However, there were significant differences in the abundances of 18 species (9 of them higher in the control site); these differences might result from differential effects of potentially toxic elements on functional groups (such as feeding guilds), resource availability, as well as other factors not accounted for. Historically, mining activities in the area generated significant changes in the structure and composition of the forest, and disrupted ecological processes. Despite the fact that current conditions appear favorable to the relative stability of the bird community, specific physiological effects on some species of birds sixty years after the cessation of mineral extraction could occur. Further studies on physiological performance and the effects of potentially toxic elements on local birds could unveil unknown effects at the individual level.

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Solid phases controlling the mobility of potentially toxic elements and the generation of acid drainage in abandoned mine gold wastes from San Antonio–El Triunfo mining district, Baja California Sur, México

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-016-5755-6 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 75 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ernesto Hernández-Mendiola ◽

Francisco Martín Romero ◽

Margarita Gutiérrez-Ruiz ◽

Carlos Alberto Magdaleno Rico

Keyword(s):

Toxic Elements ◽

Baja California ◽

San Antonio ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Abandoned Mine ◽

Mining District ◽

Baja California Sur ◽

Acid Drainage ◽

Solid Phases

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Key objects of potentially toxic elements impact of hydrocarbons on the environment

Environmental Protection in Oil and Gas Complex ◽

10.33285/2411-7013-2020-6(297)-47-54 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 47-54

Author(s):

S.P. Yakutseni ◽

Keyword(s):

Toxic Elements ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements

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Current Status and Temporal Trend of Potentially Toxic Elements Pollution in Agricultural Soil in the Yangtze River Delta Region: A Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18031033 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 1033

Author(s):

Shufeng She ◽

Bifeng Hu ◽

Xianglin Zhang ◽

Shuai Shao ◽

Yefeng Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Yangtze River ◽

Agricultural Soil ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Temporal Trend ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Yangtze River Delta ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

River Delta ◽

The Yangtze River ◽

The Yangtze River Delta

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution in the agricultural soil of China, especially in developed regions such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in eastern China, has received increasing attention. However, there are few studies on the long-term assessment of soil pollution by PTEs over large regions. Therefore, in this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the current state and temporal trend of PTEs pollution in the agricultural land of the Yangtze River Delta. Based on a review of 118 studies published between 1993 and 2020, the average concentrations of Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni were found to be 0.25 mg kg−1, 0.14 mg kg−1, 8.14 mg kg−1, 32.32 mg kg−1, 68.84 mg kg−1, 32.58 mg kg−1, 92.35 mg kg−1, and 29.30 mg kg−1, respectively. Among these elements, only Cd and Hg showed significant accumulation compared with their background values. The eastern Yangtze River Delta showed a relatively high ecological risk due to intensive industrial activities. The contents of Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil showed an increasing trend from 1993 to 2000 and then showed a decreasing trend. The results obtained from this study will provide guidance for the prevention and control of soil pollution in the Yangtze River Delta.

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