Contamination of the environmental ecosystems by trace elements from mining activities of Badao bone coal mine in China

Bone coal, as a main mining object, can be used by local inhabitants as daily fuel and by local industrial enterprises as industrial fuel in Pinglin County, Shaanxi Province, China. This study reports how the environmental ecosystems have been polluted around the Badao bone coal mine. Geochemical samples (e.g. rock, water, soil, edible plant and animal) were collected. Bone coal from the Badao mine contains Se up to 75 µg/g Se and 28 µg/g Se in ashes after its combustion, with higher contents of other trace elements. Bone coal and its ash seem to be the main geochemical source of trace elements in soils and plants, which may cause contamination of the local environmental ecosystems. Three ways by which soils have been contaminated by these trace elements derived from bone coal are proposed in this paper. Radishes and beans have the ability to accumulate Mo and Se from soils. There is no obvious difference in concentrations of Cu, Cr and F in each plant from the two areas.