Cadmium and lead distribution in pyrite ores

The pyrite ores are strategic industrial resources which generally serve as raw material for producing sulfuric acid. However, during the mining and industrial processing activities, associated toxic elements of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) could be released into the surroundings, posing a significant threat to local environment and human health. In this study, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurement (IRMM) sequential extraction scheme was used to investigate the geochemical fractionation of Cd and Pb in pyrite ores from a mining area located in Yunfu, western Guangdong, China. The results showed that most of Cd and Pb (>90%) were predominantly found in the geochemically mobile fractions, indicating that Cd and Pb were readily bioaccessible thus easily assimilated and accumulated by organisms. FESEM-EDS results showed that the studied pyrite ores were mainly composed of O, S, and Fe, while the XRD characterizations suggested that FeS2 and SiO2 were the major minerals. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope and element mapping characterization further confirmed that FeS2 was the main mineral of pyrite ores which contained relatively enriched toxic heavy metals (e.g., Pb and Cd). The findings highlight that an extremely large amount of geochemically mobile heavy metals can be released into the environmental media during the mining and utilization processes of pyrite ores based on IRMM sequential extraction protocol. Therefore, proper countermeasures against environmental risks of utilizing pyrite ores should be taken to mitigate the impacts on local ecosystem and human health.

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Heavy metal composition of maize and tomato grown on contaminated soils

Open Agriculture ◽

10.1515/opag-2018-0046 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 414-426

Author(s):

A.O. Adekiya ◽

A.P. Oloruntoba ◽

S.O. Ojeniyi ◽

B.S. Ewulo

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Heavy Metal ◽

Contaminated Soils ◽

Heavy Metal Contamination ◽

Mining Area ◽

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Mining Site ◽

Solanum Lycopersicum L ◽

Sources Of Pollution

Abstract The study investigated the level of heavy metal contamination in plants {maize (Zea mays) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)} from thirty soil samples of three locations (Epe, Igun and Ijana) in the Ilesha gold mining area, Osun State, Nigeria. Total concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Spatial variations were observed for all metals across the locations which was adduced to pH and the clay contents of the soils of each location. The results showed that heavy metals are more concentrated in the areas that are closer to the mining site and the concentrations in soil and plants (maize and tomato) decreased with increasing perpendicular distance from the mining site, indicating that the gold mine was the main sources of pollution. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in plants (tomato and maize) samples were considered to be contaminated as As, Cd and Pb respectively ranged from 0.6 - 2.04 mg kg-1, 0.8 - 5.2 mg kg-1, 0.8 - 3.04 mg kg-1 for tomato and respectively 0.60 - 2.00 mg kg-1, 1.50 - 4.60 mg kg-1 and 0.90 - 2.50 mg kg-1 for maize. These levels exceeded the maximum permissible limits set by FAO/WHO for vegetables. In conclusion, monitoring of crops for toxic heavy metals is essential for food safety in Nigeria.

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Sequential extraction and risk assessment of pollutants from one major tributary of the Ganga

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2021.437 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vinay Kumar ◽

Pokhraj Sahu ◽

Markandeya

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

High Risk ◽

Sequential Extraction ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Residual Fraction ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Risk Assessment Code ◽

Bed Sediments ◽

Gomti River

Abstract The geochemical fractionation of toxic heavy metals Cd, Pb, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Cu, Fe and Zn was investigated in 10 different sites of river bed sediments (up, mid and downstream) of Gomti River at Lucknow city. Sequential extraction technique was used to identify the distribution of trace elements binding in different fractions i.e., exchangeable, carbonate, Fe and Mn oxide, organic matter and residual. Heavy metal concentrations were least at upstream and significantly higher in mid and downstream. Fractionation indicated that dominant metals were bound in residual fraction to the bed sediments except for Cd and Pb which were bound in an equivalent fraction. Geo-accumulation index factor reveals that the enrichment of heavy metals in the bio-available fraction is contributed anthropogenically. Hierarchical cluster analysis also shows the metal pollution load in the river. Risk assessment code of Cd and Ni showed very high risk (ranged from 54.41 to 85.56 and 20.57 to 44.92 respectively) followed by Pb (high risk), Zn, Co (medium risk), Cr, Mn, Cu, Fe (low risk) in Gomti River water. Further, concentrations of Cd and Pb at mid Lucknow were 31 and 75%, high enough to pose a substantial risk to the environment.

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Human health risk assessment for ingestion exposure to groundwater contaminated by naturally occurring mixtures of toxic heavy metals in the Lao PDR

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment ◽

10.1007/s10661-014-3747-0 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 186 (8) ◽

pp. 4905-4923 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Penradee Chanpiwat ◽

Byung-Tae Lee ◽

Kyoung-Woong Kim ◽

Suthipong Sthiannopkao

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risk Assessment ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Lao Pdr ◽

Human Health Risk Assessment ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Naturally Occurring

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Contamination levels and human health risk assessment of toxic heavy metals in street dust in an industrial city in Northwest China

Environmental Geochemistry and Health ◽

10.1007/s10653-017-0028-1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 2007-2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Yufeng Jiang ◽

Leiping Shi ◽

A-long Guang ◽

Zhongfeng Mu ◽

Huiying Zhan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Northwest China ◽

Street Dust ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Industrial City ◽

Contamination Levels

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Human health risk assessment of potentially toxic heavy metals in the atmospheric dust of city of Hamedan, west of Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-018-2818-0 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (28) ◽

pp. 28086-28093 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Soheil Sobhanardakani

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risk Assessment ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Human Health Risk Assessment ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Atmospheric Dust

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Heavy Metals and Microbes Accumulation in Soil and Food Crops Irrigated with Wastewater and the Potential Human Health Risk: A Metadata Analysis

Water ◽

10.3390/w13233405 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 3405

Author(s):

Yahia A. Othman ◽

Amani Al-Assaf ◽

Maher J. Tadros ◽

Abeer Albalawneh

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Forage Crops ◽

The World ◽

Metadata Analysis ◽

The Mean ◽

Edible Parts

Wastewater is actively used for irrigation of vegetable and forage crops in arid lands due to water scarcity and cost advantages. The objective of this review was to assess the effect of wastewater (mixture sources) reuse in irrigation on soil, crop (vegetable and forage crops), animal products, and human health. The metadata analysis of 95 studies revealed that the mean of toxic heavy metals including nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in untreated wastewater were higher than the world standard limits in wastewater-irrigated regions. Although heavy metals in treated wastewater were within the standard limits in those areas, the concentration of those toxic elements (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, and As) exceeded the allowable limits in both soil and vegetables’ edible parts. In fact, the concentration of heavy metals in vegetables’ edible parts increased by 3–9 fold when compared with those irrigated with fresh water. Escherichia coli in wastewater-irrigated soil was about 2 × 106 (CFU g−1) and about 15 (CFU g−1) in vegetables’ edible parts (leaf, bulb, tuber and fruit) while the mean total coliforms was about 1.4 × 106 and 55 (CFU g−1) in soil and vegetables’ edible parts, respectively. For human health risk assessment, the estimated daily intake (EDI) and human health risk index (HRI) ranged from 0.01 to 8 (EDI and HRI > 1.0 associated with adverse health effects). Although the mean of EDI for heavy metals from wastewater-irrigated vegetables were less than 1, the HRI for Cd and Pb were above the limits for safe consumption. Overall, heavy metal levels in wastewater that used for irrigation of agricultural crops could be within the recommended levels by the world standards, but the long-term use of this reused water will contaminate soil and crops with several toxic heavy metals leading to potential carcinogenic risks to humans. Therefore, rigorous and frequent testing (wastewater, soil, and plant) is required in cultivated farms to prevent the translocation of heavy metals in the food chain.

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Combining mussel and seaweed hydrogel-inspired strategies to design novel ion-imprinted sorbents for ultra-efficient lead removal from water

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/c8nj06154h ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (14) ◽

pp. 5495-5502 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Wei Shen ◽

Xiao Jiang ◽

Qing-Da An ◽

Zuo-Yi Xiao ◽

Shang-Ru Zhai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Human Health ◽

Lead Removal ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Ion Imprinted

Lead(ii) is one of the most toxic heavy metals and is a serious threat to the environment and human health.

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Quantification of toxic metals during different winemaking stages

BIO Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/bioconf/20191502024 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 02024

Author(s):

G.-D. Dumitriu (Gabur) ◽

C. Teodosiu ◽

I. Morosanu ◽

O. Jitar ◽

V.V. Cotea

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Human Health ◽

International Organization ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Priority Pollutants ◽

Red Wines ◽

Toxic Heavy Metals ◽

Agricultural Chemicals ◽

Health Safety ◽

Extended Contact

Heavy metals in beverages can constitute serious problems to human health. Consumption of wine may contribute to the daily dietary intake of pollutants, especially of toxic (heavy) metals. These compounds are also known as priority pollutants due to their potential toxic effects, if concentrations are not kept under allowable limits. Many characteristics such as: quality, origin, aroma and health safety of wine are influenced by environmental and anthropogenic factors. Hence, the contamination of wine by priority pollutants may occur at different stages of vine-growing, due to the application of agricultural chemicals, or at different stage of winemaking and ageing, because of the extended contact of wine with winemaking equipment materials (aluminium, brass, glass, stainless steel and wood, etc.), or chemicals used for cleaning and sanitation. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the heavy metal ions from red wines. A particular focus was attributed to Zn and Cd from destemming-pressing-filtration-bottling stages in Fetească neagră grape variety from Cotnari vine growing region of Romania. Results indicated that heavy metals were linked to diverse Zn and Cd sources and complexes during the winemaking processes. Concentration of Zn and Cd were generally higher in must than in wine, although heavy metals concentrations were lower than the limits recommended by the International Organization of Vine and Wine for human health safety.

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