scholarly journals Assessment of soil heavy metal pollution in a former mining area – before and after the end of mining activities

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 229-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Demková ◽  
T. Jezný ◽  
L. Bobuľská

Toxicity and persistence of heavy metals, which are accumulated in the environment as the result of diverse industrial activities, represent serious environmental problem worldwide. The intense mineral extraction in mining areas has produced a large amount of waste material and tailings, which release toxic elements to the environment. The aim of the study was to determine in two time horizons (1997, 2015) the heavy metal contents of samples derived from ten sampling sites located in the former mining area of Central Spiš (Slovakia). In order to compare the level of contamination, the contamination factor (C<sup>i</sup><sub>f</sub>), degree of contamination (C<sub>d</sub>), and pollution load index (PLI) were computed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used in order to detect the relationships among heavy metals. A serious situation was found for Hg, Zn, and Cd, which exceeded limit values at all sampling sites within both studied years. In 1997, the average values of contamination factor have shown very high contamination with all studied heavy metals, and moderate contamination with Co. In 2015, the study area was classified as very highly contaminated with As, Hg, Zn, Cu, considerably contaminated with Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cd, while Co contamination was not detected. Since 1997 till 2015 the pollution load index decreased by about 38%, nevertheless even then almost all sampling sites were classified as heavily polluted. Despite the fact that mining activities were stopped or limited at the beginning of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, the presence of heavy metals in soils remains at a serious level. The high level of contamination is a result of heavy metal persistence and non-biodegradability.

Tehnika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-304
Author(s):  
Todor Serafimovski ◽  
Goran Tasev ◽  
Trajce Stafilov

The intense mineral extraction in mining areas during the last several decades has produced a large amount of waste material and tailings, which release toxic elements to the environment. The aim of the study was to determine in two vertical profiles/sections (1 and 2) the heavy metal contents of samples derived from six samples, three from each section located in the porphyry copper mine Buchim area, Republic North Macedonia. The results have been compared to new Dutchlist (DL) and Kabata-Pendias (KP) standards and the following was concluded: As values ranged 14.985÷60.131 mg kg-1 with 4 samples above the target value of the DL (29 mg kg-1 As) and 6 above standard values given in KP value (5 mg kg-1 As), in that context Co values ranged 11 ÷57 mg kg-1 with 6 values above the target value of the DL (9 mg kg-1 Co) and 5 above standard values given in KP value (12 mg kg-1 Co), Cr with range 29.32÷75.76 mg kg-1 with 6 over KP value (10 mg kg-1 Cr) and none above the target value of the DL (100 mg kg-1 Cr), Cu with range 2694÷6749 mg kg-1 with 6 samples above the target value of the DL (36 mg kg-1 Cu) and 6 above standard values given in KP value (20 mg kg-1 Cu), Ni with range 59.57÷105.98 mg kg-1 with 6 samples above the target value of the DL (35 mg kg-1 Ni) and 6 above standard values given in KP value (20 mg kg-1 Ni), Pb with range 27.06 ÷96.08 mg kg-1 with 1 sample above the target value of the DL (85 mg kg-1Pb) and 6 above standard values given in KP value (25 mg kg-1Pb), Zn with range 147÷273 mg kg-1 with 6 over target value of the DL (140 mg kg-1 Zn) and 6 above standard KP value (64 mg kg-1 Zn), V with range 34.44÷92.57 mg kg-1 with 5 over target value of the DL (42 mg kg-1 V) and one above KP value (90 mg kg-1 V).In order to compare the level of contamination, the contamination factor (𝐶𝑓 𝑖 ), degree of contamination (Cd), and pollution load index (PLI) were computed. Serious numbers were found for Cu, as, Zn, Co and Ni, which exceeded standard values at almost all samples from both vertical sections. Compared from section 1 and section 2, pollution load index increased by 13.43%, which in almost all samples was classified as heavily polluted to extremely polluted. The fact that mining activities at the Buchim Mine last for almost 40 years, the presence of heavy metals in soils at a serious level is understandable. The high level of contamination is a result of heavy metal persistence and non-biodegradability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
Arti Yadav ◽  
Pawan Kumar Yadav

Wastewater irrigation is practiced in outskirts of several cities of India. Enhanced growth and productivity of crops possess threat of heavy metal accumulation while irrigated with wastewater. Assessment of heavy metal accumulation in soil flooded with wastewater of Mawaiya drain in Naini region of Allahabad district, using parameter of contamination factor and pollution load index (PLI). Samples of soil were taken from the fields irrigated with wastewater and analyzed for heavy metals by using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The maximum accumulation of heavy metal was observed for iron in soil. Heavy metal contamination is soil was assessed by estimation of contamination factor which was observed for Cu (0.7858), Fe (296.1864), Zn (0.4304), Pb (1.1661) and Ni (1.8912). Pollution load index (PLI) used for assessment of soil contamination and observed that maximum contamination (PLI, 74.31) was in water stressed conditions of summer. Heavy metals concentration in wastewater and accumulation in soil found within WHO limits in present study which may increase if unmanaged wastewater flooding continued.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-21
Author(s):  
Ashwini Supekar ◽  
Ashok Issac ◽  
Ashwini Rane

Pre-urban, urban and post-urban stretch of the Mula River in Pune District of Maharashtra (India) is examined for quantification of heavy metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd), calculation of the Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Contamination Factor (CF). They were estimated from the surface sediments (0-5 cm) at 10 sampling sites along the Mula river. High Cr anomaly (Max. 388.20 ppm) followed by Co (Max. 104.91 ppm), Ni (Max. 167.44 ppm), Cu (Max. 391.35 ppm), Zn (Max. 507.91 ppm) and Cd (Max. 2.38 ppm) is seen at various locations mostly encompassing the urban stretch. PLI is found to be high i.e., >1 in urban sites like Khadki, Kalyaninagar and Kharadi than the rural downstream sites. There is negligible mobility of the heavy metals and the urban floodplains are increasingly accumulating the heavy metals to a highly hazardous level.


Author(s):  
Aliyu Ibrahim Yaradua ◽  
Adamu Jibrin Alhassan ◽  
Abdullahi Nasir ◽  
Kabir Ibrahim Matazu ◽  
Aminu Usman ◽  
...  

This work contributes to the monitoring of Agricultural soil pollution in Katsina State, North western Nigeria by assessing the degree of heavy metal pollution in Agricultural soil samples. The study was conducted in the year 2017 within some catchment areas located within the 3 senatorial zones that constitute to make up the state (Katsina senatorial zone: Birchi, Dutsinma and Katsina; Daura senatorial zone: Daura, Ingawa and Zango; Funtua senatorial zone: Dabai, Funtua, Kafur, Malunfashi and Matazu).  Analysis for the concentration of these heavy metals; Cr, Cd, Fe, Ni, Mn, Pb and Zn was conducted by the use of AAS (by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) method. . Several indices were used to assess the metal contamination levels in the Agricultural soil samples, namely; Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Contamination Factor (CF), Degree of Contamination (Cd) and Pollution Load Index (PLI). The result of this study has shown that generally among the heavy metals evaluated, the highest concentration was observed for Fe (range: 20.195-38.347 ppm), followed by Zn (range: 0.528-1.134 ppm), Pb (range: 0.256-0.627 ppm), Mn (range: 0.261-0.572 ppm) and Cr (range: 0.093-0.344 ppm). While Cd has the lowest concentration (range: 0.022-0.043 ppm). For all the site sampled the heavy metal Ni was below detection level (BDL). From the results of heavy metals I-geo values, according to Muller’s classification,  soil samples from Birchi, Daura, Dutsinma, Kafur and Zango were unpolluted (class 0) while soil samples from Dabai, Funtua, Ingawa, Katsina, Malunfashi and Matazu are moderately polluted (class 1). The result for the enrichment factor has shown that with the exception of the heavy metal Fe, which shows significant enrichment for all the sites sampled all the other heavy metals show deficiency to minimal enrichment. Also based on the contamination factors for all soil samples the heavy metal Fe has a CF values range of 1.2861-2.3240, indicating that the Agricultural soil samples are moderately contaminated with Fe. In contrast, the rest of the heavy metals exhibit low contamination in general. The value of PLI ranges from 0.2408 to 0.4935, indicating unpolluted to moderate pollution, with the sampling site for Katsina displaying the highest PLI value while the sampling site of Ingawa has the lowest PLI. The Eri values for all samples are all < 40, presenting low ecological risk.  The results suggest that the Agricultural soils samples from Katsina state has low contamination by the heavy metals evaluated.Key words: Agricultural soils, Heavy metals, Katsina state, Pollution load index, Contamination factor.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (01) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charu Gangwar ◽  
Aprajita Singh ◽  
Raina Pal ◽  
Atul Kumar ◽  
Saloni Sharma ◽  
...  

E-waste is a popular name given to those electronic products nearing the end of their useful life which has become a major source of heavy metal contamination in soil and hence, became the global concern. Various samples of soil were collected from different sites and were determined for heavy metal analysis by the ICP-AAS after the digestion process. The main source of contamination is illegal e-waste recycling activities such as burning of PCB's acid baths etc. Different soil indices like contamination factor, I-geo, pollution load index, were calculated to determine the quality of the soil. Results indicate that e-waste recycling and industrial area are strongly contaminated by the heavy metals. Physiological analysis of soil revealed that e-waste processing and industrial activities decrease the soil pH and organic matter while enhancing the electrical conductivity of soil. The exceedance of metal contamination imposed negative impact to the soil environment and human health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 04013
Author(s):  
Triyani Dewi ◽  
Edhi Martono ◽  
Eko Hanudin ◽  
Rika Harini

Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal concentrations in shallot fields are needed to evaluate the potential risk of contamination due to heavy metals. This study aims to define the status of heavy metal contamination in shallot fields using contamination indices. A total of 184 soil samples (0-20 cm) were taken from shallot fields in Brebes Regency, Central Java. The soil samples were analyzed for the concentration of five heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Co) with HNO3 and HClO4 extracts and measured using AAS. Assessment of the status of heavy metals contamination in the soil using contaminant factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (I-geo), and pollution load index (PLI). The mean concentration in shallot fields showed the following order Cr > Ni > Pb > Co > Cd and the concentration were still below critical limit values. Four metals are Pb, Cr, Co, and Ni are low contamination (CF<1), while Cd is considerable until very high contamination factor. Based on I-geo values, shallot fields are practically uncontaminated of Pb, Co, Ni, and Cr (I-geo<1), meanwhile the status of Cd is uncontaminated to moderately contaminated (0<I-geo<1). Generally, the shallot fields in Brebes Regency, Central Java is unpolluted with five metals (PLI<1).


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Proshad ◽  
Md. Saiful Islam ◽  
Tapos Kormoker

This study was conducted to assess the ecological risk of heavy metals in soils collected from the industrial vicinity of Tangail district in Bangladesh. In this study, the levels of six heavy metals namely chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in 15 sampling sites around the industrial vicinity of Tangail district in Bangladesh were assessed. The mean concentration of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd and Pb in studied soils were 11.56, 23.92, 37.27, 6.11, 2.01, and 17.46 mg/kg, respectively. Certain indices, including the enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (Cif), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI), toxic unit analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to assess the ecological risk. The enrichment factor of all the studied metals for all sampling sites were in the descending order of Cd > Cu > As > Pb >Ni > Cr. The contamination factor values revealed that the studied soils were highly impacted by Cd. The pollution load index (PLI) values of Cd were higher than 1, indicating the progressive deterioration of soil due to Cd contamination. In the context of potential ecological risk (PER), soils from all sampling sites showed moderate to very high potential ecological risk.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okereke Chioma ◽  
Agomuo Emmanuel ◽  
Amadi Peter

The adverse health effects associated with heavy metal pollution have become a subject of topical discussion. Using standard methods, this study evaluated the accumulation and toxicological risks of heavy metal deposition on top soils of school playgrounds in Obio-Akpor LGA. Results obtained from the top soils, sampled from 10 different schools showed that the concentration of heavy metals assessed, followed the trend; Hg<As<Cd<Pb<Cu. Marginal differences between the test and control samples were observed for the geoaccumulation index of the heavy metals except for copper. For the contamination factor, FCUA had the least results for cadmium (0.31) but highest in arsenic (0.016) while OPS, UDPS and RBPS recorded the highest contamination factor for lead, mercury, and copper respectively. The results for the pollution load index and degree of contamination of the test sites showed that the sites were unpolluted and had low contamination status, while the enrichment factors showed the deposition of only cadmium to be of a natural origin, and the rest of the heavy metals resulted from anthropogenic sources. The trend from the hazard quotient was Pb>Hg>Cu>Cd>As while the highest (0.0213) and least (0.0162) total hazard index value occurred at RBPS and MOM respectively. These values obtained for this study indicate that the school playground's soils are still within the recommended heavy metal content safe levels.


Author(s):  
Chang Li ◽  
Liugen Zheng ◽  
Chunlu Jiang ◽  
Xing Chen ◽  
Shuaishuai Ding

AbstractCoal gangue is the main pollution source of mining areas. When coal gangue is stacked and recycled, the heavy metal elements contained in it are released by natural weathering and leaching, which causes damage to the surrounding ecological environment. In this study, the leaching and precipitation characteristics of heavy metals in low-sulfur coal gangue under different environmental conditions were simulated by indoor dynamic leaching experiments, which provided a theoretical basis for environmental restoration of the mining area. The conclusions are as follows: higher heavy metal content in low-sulfur coal gangue is associated with greater, leaching of heavy metals; acidic conditions promote the release of heavy metals in low-sulfur coal gangue; and more precipitation is associated with better release of heavy metals from the low-sulfur coal gangue.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document