Atmospheric Pollution from a Storage of Tungsten–Molybdenum Ore Mining and Processing Wastes

Abstract

Experimental studies of the surface atmosphere pollution with mining and processing wastes of tungsten–molybdenum ore were carried out using an equipment devised for collecting aerosols above the surface of sands. It has been established that toxic components formed during the decomposition of residual sulfide mineralization and products of interaction between acidic waters and rocks are transported with water vapor from the sands to the surface. The moisture condensed over the sands contains high concentrations of aluminum, fluorine, iron, silicon, manganese, zinc, and phosphorus. These elements form an atmospheric pollution halo over the technogenic sands and are further dispersed by air currents over neighboring areas. In winter, the snow cover is polluted over a vast territory due to wind dispersion of the aerosols. The halo of pollution extends over tens of square kilometers. A dependence was identified of qualitative and quantitative composition of the components polluting the snow cover on the storage time of the ore processing products. It is shown that some of the toxic elements pass into solution during snow melting from suspended solids, which are brought by wind from the territory where the soil cover is disturbed by mining.