Integrated geoecological assessment of water bodies in large-scale coal mining areas in Kuzbass

Author(s):  
V.P. Potapov ◽  
E.L. Schastlivtsev ◽  
A.A. Bykov ◽  
N.I. Yukina
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Kumar ◽  
Dibyendu Paul ◽  
Sudhir Kumar

<p>Meghalaya, also known as ‘abode of clouds’, is a state located in north-eastern part of India, blessed with abundance of water resources. In the last few decades, extensive coal mining in different parts of Meghalaya has caused detrimental changes in the environment, particularly the aquatic systems. Acid and metal loaded effluents (also known as acid mine drainage or AMD), resulting from the exposure of sulphide mineralization to oxidizing conditions from abandoned or active mining areas, are the principal environmental problems today. Sulphate (SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup>) is a major contaminant and attracts widespread attention as the dominant form of sulphur in coal mining affected aquatic systems. The increased presence of SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2- </sup>in ecosystems affected by mining activities has immense negative environmental and human health effects. Low pH and high heavy metal concentrations have been reported from streams flowing in and around the coal mining area in Meghalaya rendering the water quality to be very poor  and unfit for use as potable water.</p><p>Stable isotopes have emerged as a promising environmental tracer to understand different environmental functions and processes. Valuable information on the sources and processes can be obtained from the stable isotope ratios of chemical elements in environmental samples as the sources and processes influence history of the samples. Stable isotopes analysis combined with hydrochemical analysis enhances our understanding of transformation and environmental fate of different compounds in water bodies and can provide precise information about factors responsible for controlling water chemistry of different water bodies.</p><p>Stable isotopes of sulphur and oxygen combined with hydrochemical parameters were used as a tool for determining origin, transformation and fate of sulphur in AMD affected water bodies in Meghalaya.The study was conducted on two rivers affected by AMD, viz. Myntdu River and Lunar-Lukha River, flowing in the Jaintia Hills region of Meghalaya. The water samples collected are analysed for hydrochemical parameters and stable sulphur and oxygen isotopes (δ<sup>34</sup>S and δ<sup>18</sup>O in aqueous SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup>). The stable isotopes of sulphur and oxygen were also analysed in the coal samples from the nearby mining areas. The result provided an insight into the transformational processes of sulphur in these two AMD affected rivers and the environmental fate of sulphur.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 108-111 ◽  
pp. 403-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Liang Wang ◽  
Lei Wang

In connection with the problems that coal mining accounts for water environment pollution and socio-economic development, the main factors was analyzed. From water environment system, ecological system and socio-economic system, corresponding evaluation index system was perfected and became fit for factual situation. Matter-element model of water environment impact evaluation was constructed and used to evaluate four large-scale coal mining areas. The results showed that assessment model in accordance with the objective reality. Compared with other evaluation models, matter-element model is more accurate and comprehensive. By matlab, a calculating program was made and can be dynamically amended.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 345
Author(s):  
Xinran Nie ◽  
Zhenqi Hu ◽  
Mengying Ruan ◽  
Qi Zhu ◽  
Huang Sun

The large-scale development and utilization of coal resources have brought great challenges to the ecological environment of coal-mining areas. Therefore, this paper has used scientific and effective methods to monitor and evaluate whether changes in ecological environment quality in coal-mining areas are helpful to alleviate the contradiction between human and nature and realize the sustainable development of such coal-mining areas. Firstly, in order to quantify the degree of coal dust pollution in coal-mining areas, an index-based coal dust index (ICDI) is proposed. Secondly, based on the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework, a new coal-mine ecological index (CMEI) was established by using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. Finally, the coal-mine ecological index (CMEI) was used to evaluate and detect the temporal and spatial changes of the ecological environment quality of the Ningwu Coalfield from 1987 to 2021. The research shows that ICDI has a strong ability to extract coal dust with an overall accuracy of over 96% and a Kappa coefficient of over 0.9. As a normalized difference index, ICDI can better quantify the pollution degree of coal dust. The effectiveness of CMEI was evaluated by four methods: sample image-based, classification-based, correlation-based, and distance-based. From 1987 to 2021, the ecological environment quality of Ningwu Coalfield was improved, and the mean of CMEI increased by 0.1189. The percentages of improvement and degradation of ecological environment quality were 71.85% and 27.01%, respectively. The areas with obvious degradation were mainly concentrated in coal-mining areas and built-up areas. The ecological environment quality of Pingshuo Coal Mine, Shuonan Coal Mine, Xuangang Coal Mine, and Lanxian Coal Mine also showed improvement. The results of Moran’s Index show that CMEI has a strong positive spatial correlation, and its spatial distribution is clustered rather than random. Coal-mining areas and built-up areas showed low–low clustering (LL), while other areas showed high–high clustering (HH). The utilization and popularization of CMEI provides an important reference for decision makers to formulate ecological protection policies and implement regional coordinated development strategies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasirudeen Abdul Fatawu

Recent floods in Ghana are largely blamed on mining activities. Not only are lives lost through these floods, farms andproperties are destroyed as a result. Water resources are diverted, polluted and impounded upon by both large-scale minersand small-scale miners. Although these activities are largely blamed on behavioural attitudes that need to be changed, thereare legal dimensions that should be addressed as well. Coincidentally, a great proportion of the water resources of Ghana arewithin these mining areas thus the continual pollution of these surface water sources is a serious threat to the environmentand the development of the country as a whole. The environmental laws need to be oriented properly with adequate sanctionsto tackle the impacts mining has on water resources. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure needs to bestreamlined and undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and not the company itself.


Author(s):  
Z.B. Baktybaeva ◽  
R.A. Suleymanov ◽  
T.K. Valeev ◽  
N.R. Rakhmatullin

Carried out ecological and hygienic assessment of pollution of surface and groundwater of mining areas in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Revealed exceeding standards for fishery water bodies and drinking and cultural and community water use, which indicates the potential danger of surface water for the health of the region's population. The greatest relative contribution to the overall pollution of surface water bodies are making manganese (33,0–66,6 %), iron (9,1–15,6 %), calcium (6,5–11,7 %), lead (5,8– 7,2 %). The quality of water used for drinking purposes from decentralized water sources (boreholes, wells, springs), do not always correspond to the hygienic and sanitary-epidemiological requirements. In this case, the highest priority performance of drinking water contamination are increased stiffness, high content of iron, calcium, nitrate, presence cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 864
Author(s):  
Suguna Perumal ◽  
Raji Atchudan ◽  
Thomas Nesakumar Jebakumar Immanuel Edison ◽  
Rajendran Suresh Babu ◽  
Petchimuthu Karpagavinayagam ◽  
...  

The growth of industry fulfills our necessity and promotes economic development. However, pollutants from such industries pollute water bodies which pose a high risk for living organisms. Thus, researchers have been urged to develop an efficient method to remove toxic heavy metal ions from water bodies. The adsorption method shows promising results for the removal of heavy metal ions and is easy to operate on a large scale, thus can be applied to practical applications. Numerous adsorbents were developed and reported, among them hydrogels, which attract great attention because of the reusability, ease of preparation, and handling. Hydrogels are generally prepared by the cross-linking of polymers that result in a three-dimensional structure, showing high porosity and high functionality. They are hydrophilic in nature because of the functional groups, and are non-toxic. Thus, this review provides various methods of hydrogel adsorbents preparation and summarizes recent progress in the use of hydrogel adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions. Further, the mechanism involved in the removal of heavy metal ions is briefly discussed. The most recent studies about the adsorption method for the treatment of heavy metal ions contaminated water are presented.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1481-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Celebi ◽  
S. Özdemir

Large-scale mining activities have a huge impact on the environment. Determination of the size of the effect and monitoring it is vital. In this study, risk assessment studies in mining areas and the effect of mining on groundwater and ecosystems were investigated. Best management practices and risk assessment steps were determined, especially in areas with huge amounts of mining wastewater. The pollution of groundwater and its reaching humans is a risk of major importance. Our study showed, using many cases with different parameters and countries, that the management of mining wastewater is vital. Environmental impact assessments and monitoring studies must be carried out before operation and at the closure of the mine. Policies must be in place and ready to apply. Factors of climate, geology, ecology and human health must be considered over a long period. Currently, only the developed countries are applying policies and paying attention to the risk. International assessments and health risk assessments should be carried out according to international standards.


2012 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Klinger ◽  
A. Charmoille ◽  
J. Bueno ◽  
G. Gzyl ◽  
B. Garzon Súcar

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