The Occurrence of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Surficial Lake Sediments before and after a Tailings Dam Failure (original) (raw)
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This research is aimed at investigating the mineralogical characteristics of the tailings material and heavy metal contents of the tailings material deposited close to the Sasa Pb-Zn Mine in the Osogovo Mountains (eastern Macedonia) and on its possible impact on Lake Kalimanci. The mineral composition of Sasa Mine tailings material is dominated by quartz, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, magnetite and others. Geochemical analysis was performed in a certified commercial laboratory for the following elements: Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, As, Cd, Sb, Bi, Ag, Al, Fe, Mn, S. Analysis revealed very high concentrations of toxic metals in the tailing material -with average values �mg kg -1 �: Mo 2.9, Cu 279, Pb 3975, Zn 5320, Ni 30, As 69, Cd 84, Sb 4.2, Bi 9.4 and Ag 4.1. The multi-element contamination of Sasa Mine tailings material was assigned a pollution index greater of 15, indicating that the tailings material from Sasa Mine contains very high amounts of toxic metals and represents a high environmental risk for surrounding ecosystems. For this reason the influence of discharged tailings dam material into Lake Kalimanci which lies approximately 12 km lower than Sasa Mine, was also established. Calculated pollution index values for Lake Kalimanci sediments vary from 21 to 65 and for Sasa mine surficial tailings dam material from 15 to 60.
Environmental Earth Sciences, 2012
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Heavy Metals Contamination of the Sediments in the Viroi Lake of Gjirokastra District
2015
La valutazione dei metalli pesanti presenti nei sedimenti degli ecosistemi idrici ha un ruolo importante nel determinare lo stato dell’inquinamento e la qualità di questi ecosistemi. Abbiamo preso 21 mostre da 7 posti di studio di-versi e cinque metalli pesanti Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb e Cd sono stati analizzati nei se-dimenti del lago di Virua, nella regione di Argirocastro, nel Sud d’Albania. Il contenuto totale dei metalli pesanti si è definito nelle frazioni <2mm tramite il spettofotometro ad assorbimento atomico. I valori medi dei metalli pesanti
2010
Skadar lake is the biggest, and the most important, aquatic catchment in Montenegro. The main inflow to the lake (from Montenegro) are the Moraca and Crnojevica Rivers. These rivers flow through industrial and urban settlements, which may ultimately result in pollution of lake water. The objective of this study was to provide more detailed information on the eco-chemical properties of the lake system through measurement of metal concentrations and the role of sediment – water inter-reaction in controlling their distribution. The factors that impact metal concentrations in sediments of shore waters are alochthonous influences (natural effects and civilization effects) and autochthonous influences (settlement mechanism and sorption processes), as well as transformation of elements in settled sediments. Sediments and water samples were taken from 15 sites and analysed for iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). The results indicate similarities of mechanisms of m...
Heavy metals contamination of the sediments in the Viroi lake in Gjirokastra district Albania
Thalassia Salentina, 2014
The assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of water ecosystems has an important role in determination of pollution status and in the quality of these ecosystems. Twenty one sediment samples were taken in seven sampling points and five heavy metals Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Cd were analyzed in the sediments of the Viroi lake in Gjirokastra district in the south of Albania. Total content of heavy metals was determined in fractions <2mm by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments were, Ni 198, 75 mg/kg, Cr 86.36 mg/kg, Cu 62.89 mg/kg, Pb 59.69 mg/kg, while Cd was not detected. These values followed the sequence Ni>Cr>Cu>Pb. These values were higher than the values recommended in Consensus-Based Sediment Quality Guidelines of Wisconsin. Level of sediment pollution with heavy metals is evaluated based on calculation of enrichment factor (Ef) and geo-accumulation Index (Igeo). Enrichment Factor (Ef) of heavy metals in sediments ranged from 1.016 to 4.51. These values showed that the sediments have minimal enrichment to moderate enrichment with these heavy metals. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), ranged from-0.56 to 1.59, showed that these sediments are unpolluted to moderately pollute. Therefore, further studies on the speciation of heavy metals in order to evaluate their mobility in the food chains of water ecosystem are needed.
Scientific Reports, 2022
This paper presents the state and spatial distribution of surface sediment contamination of 77 lakes in Poland by Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu. The analyzed lakes were located within a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union (EU). Spatial distribution of the heavy metals (HMs), factors favoring the delivery/accumulation of HMs in surface sediments, and pollution sources were analyzed. The results indicate the contamination of lake sediments by HMs, but the potentially toxic effects of HMs are only found in single lakes. The spatial distribution of Cr indicates predominant impacts of point sources, while for Pb, Ni, and Zn, the impact of non-point sources. The analysis showed the presence of areas with very high values of particular HMs (hot spots) in the western part of Poland, while a group of 5 lakes with very low values of Ni, Pb, and Zn (cold spots) was identified in the central part of Poland. Principal component analysis showed that presence of wetlands is a factor limiting HMs inflow to lakes. Also, lower HMs concentrations were found in lake surface sediments located in catchments with a higher proportion of national parks and nature reserves. Higher HMs concentrations were found in lakes with a high proportion of Special Protection Areas designated under the EU Birds Directive. The positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources of HMs. High values of HMs concentrations indicate their delivery from industrial, urbanized, and agricultural areas. However, these impacts overlap, which disturbs the characteristic quantitative profiles assigned to these pollution sources. Heavy metals (HMs) are considered as one of the most problematic environmental pollutants 1,2. It is linked to their persistence, non-biodegradability, toxicity, and bioaccumulation. Their origin in water bodies may be either natural (e.g. weathering of bedrock, volcanic eruptions) or anthropogenic (e.g. metal ores and coal mining, coal burning, industry, urbanization, sewage treatment, fertilization, atmospheric deposition from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, tourism, aquaculture, fishery) 3-10. Dominant sources of HMs differ at the continental scale. In Africa, the dominant source of HMs is bedrock weathering, in North America mining and industry, and in Asia and Europe domestic wastewaters 11. According to the latest study results, sediments are dominated by elements primarily originating from anthropogenic sources 12-14. Many studies show that industrial sources generally have the greatest impact on HMs pollution 15. In urban lakes, the dominant sources are urban and industrial effluents; in rural areas, lakes are mainly supplied with agricultural runoff and domestic wastes 13. Lakes in protected areas are also exposed to the supply of HMs from anthropogenic sources 16-18. It results from the fact that these lakes' whose catchments are located beyond the protected areas. According to Cuculić et al. (2009), HMs in lake sediments in national parks are both of natural and anthropogenic origin. In lakes isolated from pollution sources, the pattern of HMs concentration is different than that in lakes subject to human pressure 19. Research conducted by Vukosav et al. 20 showed that lake sediments in the Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia) are generally not polluted with HMs. Also, sediment contamination has not been reported in Smolensk Lake National Park 21. According to the
Environmental status and geochemical assessment sediments of Lake Skadar, Montenegro
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2016
The environmental mobility and geochemical partitioning of ten metals were examined in sediments collected from the six locations around Lake Skadar in Montenegro. A three-step sequential extraction procedure was used to determine the distribution of the metals in various substrates of lacustrine sediments, and the concentrations were measured in the liquid extract by ICP-OES. The largest portion of the total amount of cadmium, strontium and manganese can be found in sediment bound to the hydrated iron and manganese oxides; cobalt, lead, copper and nickel in the oxidizable fraction and the highest portion of chromium, vanadium and zinc are in the residual fraction. The most mobilized and potentially mobile metals are strontium, cadmium and cobalt while the most immobilized metals are chromium, vanadium and zinc. Based on geochemical parameters, an assessment of sediment contamination by the investigated metals was performed and the results showed potential risks ranging from Bno risk^to Blow risk^to the environment.
Regional Pattern of Heavy Metal Content in Lake Sediments in Northeastern Poland
Water Air and Soil Pollution, 2011
We investigated sediments from 23 lakes situated in northeastern Poland and analyzed them for major constituents and selected heavy metals. Short sediment cores were collected from the deepest parts of the lakes, and subsequently, a surface layer (0–2 cm) and reference layer (50–52 cm) were sampled from each. In the collected samples, the content of the major constituents (organic matter, carbonates, and minerogenic material) and chosen heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was analyzed. In the reference layer, representing natural metal content, we identified quite a substantial diversity among lakes, making it difficult to pinpoint one geochemical background value for the whole region. A multivariate analysis of the interrelationships among elements and a comparison of the median values revealed no statistically significant differences between surface and reference levels. The ratio of the mean content in the surface and reference sediments ranged from 0.9 to 1.6, indicating the lack of or only slight anthropogenic pollution in surface sediments. From a spatial perspective, higher metal contents were observed in the eastern part of the study area, but this trend manifested in both surface and reference sediments. Thus, the inference is that the recently accumulated sediments are characterized by a content that is representative of the natural geochemical background for the selected metals.
Nearshore distribution of heavy metals in the Albanian part of Lake Ohrid
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
The heavy metal contamination in Lake Ohrid, a lake shared between Albania and Macedonia, was studied. Lake Ohrid is believed to be one of the oldest lakes in the world, with a large variety of endemic species. Different anthropogenic pressures, especially heavy metal influxes from mining activities, might have influenced the fragile equilibrium of the lake ecosystem. Heavy metal concentrations in water, sediment, emergent vegetation, and fish were investigated at selected sites of the lake and a study of the heavy metals in five tributaries was conducted. The lake surface water was found to have low levels of heavy metals, but sediments contained very high levels mostly near river mouths and mineral dump areas with concentrations reaching 1,501 mg/kg for Ni, 576 mg/kg for Cr, 116.8 mg/kg for Co and 64.8 g/kg for Fe. Sequential extraction of metals demonstrates that heavy metals in the sediment are mainly present in the residual fraction varying from 75% to 95% in different sites. High heavy metal levels (400 mg/kg Ni, 89 mg/kg Cr, and 39 mg/kg Co) were found in plants (stem of Phragmites australis), but heavy metals could not be detected in fish tissue (gill, muscle, and liver of Salmo letnica and Salmothymus ohridanus).
Savremene tehnologije, 2014
In this study, the nature of the association of heavy metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, Mn, and Zn) in sediments of the recent reservoir "Barje" (Leskovac, Serbia) was investigated. The aim was to make the identification of their substrates, as well as to define the external factors (hydrological and anthropogenic affecting their distribution) which will contribute to a better understanding of the interactions that take place in the reservoir and predict the mobility of the investigated heavy metals. Chemical distribution of heavy metals was tested by using the method of sequential extraction and by data processing using statistical methods such as correlation, cluster and factor analysis. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that major substrates of heavy metals are in the residual immobile fraction (Fe, Zn and Ni). Since the accumulation has a small organic substance content, Fe and Mn oxides are the most important binding substrates of heavy metals. Although it was determined that lead and cadmium are of the carbonate nature, their concentrations in the reservoir are negligible.