Assessment of heavy metal pollution associated with tailing dam in gold mining area, southern ethiopia

IF 1.5 Q3 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Geosystem Engineering Pub Date : 2022-12-26 DOI:10.1080/12269328.2022.2160833

Gera Techane, G. Sahilu, Lena Alakangas, W. Mulat, H. Kloos

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tailings dam is the main heavy metal pollution source in mining areas. In this study, the concentration of heavy metals in soil and water from upstream and downstream of the tailings dam was analyzed. The concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and W in tailings soil exceeded the standard value but Hg and Zn in the tailings soil were far below the standard. Average concentrations of As, Pb, and W in soil samples were above the upstream reference soil. The level of As and Pb decreases, downstream as the distance from the tailings dam increases. The mean concentrations of the heavy metals in water for Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd were 106.3, 57.3, 21.8, 14.5, and 8.0 µg/L, respectively. The Ni contents in all studied water samples had concentrations higher than Awata River and WHO guidelines for drinking water. Both geo-accumulation and ecological risk indices have indicated significant heavy metal pollution in the study area. The overall results of this study showed that the soil and water downstream of the tailings dam were not safe and must be protected against access to humans and domestic animals.

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埃塞俄比亚南部金矿区尾矿坝重金属污染评价

尾矿坝是矿区主要的重金属污染源。本研究分析了尾矿坝上下游土壤和水中重金属的浓度。尾矿土中As、Cd、Cu、Ni、Pb、W等元素含量均超标，而Hg、Zn等元素含量远低于标准。土壤样品中As、Pb和W的平均浓度高于上游参考土壤。As和Pb的含量在下游随着与尾矿坝距离的增加而降低。Ni、Cu、Zn、Pb和Cd在水中的平均重金属浓度分别为106.3、57.3、21.8、14.5和8.0µg/L。所有研究水样中的镍含量均高于Awata河和世界卫生组织饮用水指南。地质累积和生态风险指数均表明研究区存在严重的重金属污染。这项研究的总体结果表明，尾矿坝下游的土壤和水是不安全的，必须加以保护，防止人类和家畜进入。

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来源期刊

Geosystem Engineering GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

2.70

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0.00%

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