scholarly journals Discontinuous Geochemical Monitoring of the Galleria Italia Circumneutral Waters (Former Hg-Mining Area of Abbadia San Salvatore, Tuscany, Central Italy) Feeding the Fosso Della Chiusa Creek

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Orlando Vaselli ◽  
Marta Lazzaroni ◽  
Barbara Nisi ◽  
Jacopo Cabassi ◽  
Franco Tassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Geochemical Monitoring ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Congruent Dissolution ◽  
Tiber Basin ◽  
Tunnel System ◽  
Dissolved Mercury ◽  
Hg Mining

The Galleria Italia waters drain the complex tunnel system of the former Hg-mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Tuscany, central Italia) and feed the 2.5 km-long Fosso della Chiusa creek. The mining exploitation was active for more than one century and more than 100,000 tons of liquid mercury were produced by roasting processes of cinnabar (HgS). In this work, a discontinuous geochemical monitoring of the Galleria Italia circumneutral waters was carried out from February 2009 to October 2020, during which the main physicochemical parameters, main and minor dissolved species and trace elements (including Hg) were determined. In the observation period, significant variations in the water chemistry were recorded, particularly when flooding waves, due to intense precipitations, occurred, with the two main events being recorded in February 2009 and January 2010. The chemical composition of the Galleria Italia waters was Ca(Mg)-SO4 and related to congruent dissolution of gypsum/anhydrite at which a contribution from carbonatic and silicatic minerals and partial solubilization of CO2 and and H2S oxidation is to be added. Regarding the trace elements, Al, Mn and Fe were up to 1500, 768 and 39520 μg L−1, with these elements also showing high contents in the sediment precipitating by the Galleria Italia waters. In most cases, dissolved mercury was below the instrumental detection limit (<0.1 μg L−1), although occasionally it reached >1 μg L−1. Considering a mean flow rate of 40 L s−1 of the discharged water, the amount of dissolved mercury released from Galleria Italia was computed, although most mercury was occurring in the sediment (1.2 mg kg−1). A more realistic computation of mercury released from Galleria Italia should involve a sampling network along the Fosso della Chiusa before entering the riverine system of the Tiber basin, into which dissolved and suspended mercury are to be determined along with that occurring in the sediments.

scholarly journals Gaseous Elemental Mercury and Total and Leached Mercury in Building Materials from the Former Hg-Mining Area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Central Italy)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orlando Vaselli ◽  
Barbara Nisi ◽  
Daniele Rappuoli ◽  
Jacopo Cabassi ◽  
Franco Tassi
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Wood Structures ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Global Concern ◽  
Mining Complex ◽  
Anthropogenic Processes ◽  
Hg Mining

Mercury has a strong environmental impact since both its organic and inorganic forms are toxic and it represents a pollutant of global concern. Liquid Hg is highly volatile and it can be released during natural and anthropogenic processes in the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. In this study the distribution of Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) and the total and leached mercury concentrations on paints, plasters, roof tiles, concretes, metals, dust and wood structures were determined in the main buildings and structures of the former Hg-mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Siena, Central Italy). The mining complex (divided into 7 units) covers a surface of about 65 ha and contains mining structures and managers and workers buildings. In this work, nine surveys of GEM measurements were carried out from July 2011 to August 2015 for the buildings and structures located in the units 2, 3 and 6. Moreover, detailed measurements were performed in February, April, July, September and December 2016 in the edifices and mining structures of Unit 6. GEM concentrations showed a strong variability in terms of space and time mostly depending on the distance from the building hosting driers, furnaces and condensers and ambient temperature, respectively. In the Unit 2 surveys carried out in the hotter period (from June to September) showed GEM concentrations up to 27,500 ng m&minus;3, while in the Unit 6 they were on average much higher and occasionally they saturated the GEM measurement device (&gt;50,000 ng m&minus;3). Concentrations of total (in mg kg&minus;1) and leached (in &mu;g L&minus;1) mercury measured in different building materials (up to 46,580 mg kg&minus;1 and 4,470 mg L&minus;1 for total and leached mercury, respectively) showed for the same type of material highly variable values in dependence on the edifice or mining structure from which they were collected. The results obtained in this study are of relevant interest for the operational cleanings to be carried out during the reclamation activities.

scholarly journals Technosols Development in an Abandoned Mining Area and Environmental Risk Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6982
Author(s):  
Chiara Ferronato ◽  
Gilmo Vianello ◽  
Mauro De Feudis ◽  
Livia Vittori Antisari
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Mine Tailing ◽  
Inorganic Materials ◽  
Soil Features

The study of Technosols development, spatial distribution and physicochemical characteristics is becoming more and more important in the Anthropocene Era. The aim of the present study was to assess soil features and potential heavy metal release risk of soils developed on different mine tailing types after the waste disposal derived from mining activity in Central Italy. Soils were analyzed for their morphological, physical and chemical properties, and a chemical sequential extraction of heavy metals was performed. The investigated soils were classified as Technosols toxic having in some layer within 50 cm of the soil surface inorganic materials with high concentrations of toxic elements. Our findings showed that the bioavailability of potentially toxic element concentrations in the soil changed according to the origin of the mine tailing. However, because of the acidic pH, there is a serious risk of metals leaching which was reduced where the soil organic matter content was higher.

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