The sedimentary record of environmental lead contamination at St. Louis,Missouri (USA) area smelters

Southeastern Missouri has been a major Pb mining region since 1720 AD. Missouri mines produce a Pb ore that has a distinctive elevated ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb isotopic ratio (>1.30) that is easily recognized in Pb-contaminated sediments. Five ²¹⁰Pb dated sediment cores from Horseshoe Lake, Madison County, Illinois were examined to reconstruct Pb-contamination of the site from southeastern Missouri mines and from a local Pb smelter located adjacent to the lake. Pb concentrations increased in the cores from 5 ppm in the early 1800s to approximately 350 ppm in the late 1940s and 1950s. Pb concentrations in recently deposited sediment range from 100 to 300 ppm depending on the location within the lake. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios in the sediment cores increased indicating contamination from southeastern Missouri (mean = 1.243). After the local smelter began recycling lead-acid storage batteries in the 1950s, the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratio declined (mean = 1.224) suggesting contamination of Horseshoe Lake with Pb from sources elsewhere around the world. The results of this study demonstrate how isotopic ratios of Pb can be used to reconstruct historical anthropogenic contamination.     

Soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters: A review

This review summarizes over 160 studies focused on soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters. The methods of these investigations were examined with an emphasis on the combinations of traditional (geo)chemical approaches with various mineralogical and metal isotope techniques that are particularly helpful for depicting the fate of smelter-derived contamination in the soil. Differences in the distributions and binding of metal(loid)s in smelter-affected soils from temperate and (sub)tropical climatic zones indicate the greater vulnerability of the latter. Prevailing wind direction is a key factor affecting the dispersion of smelter emissions and their subsequent deposition into the soils, with greater importance found especially in arid areas. Whereas the greatest contamination is generally observed in the surface soil layers, downward migration of metal(loid)s in the soil profiles has been documented at numerous sites. Contamination of smelter soils significantly affects both plants and soil organisms, but suitable remediation techniques (such as chemical stabilization of soils by amendments) can be used for reducing the bioavailability of contaminants.     

Environmental Geochemistry of Heavy Metal Contaminants in Soil and Stream Sediment in Panzhihua Mining and Smelting Area,Southwestern China

Mining and smelting activities are the main causes for the increasing pollution of heavy metals in soil, Water body and stream sediment. An environmental geochemical investiga-tion was carried out in and around the Panzhihua mining and smelting area to determine the ex-tent of chemical contamination in soil and sediment. The main objective of this study was to in-vestigate the environmental geochemistry of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn and As in soil andsediment and to assess the degree of pollution in the study area. The data of heavy metal con-centrations reveal that soils and sediments in the area have been slightly contaminated. Geo-chemical maps of Igeo of each heavy metal show that the contaminated sites are located in V-Ti-magnetite sloping and smelting, gangues dam. The pollution sources of the selected elementscome mainly from dusts resultant from mining activities and other three-waste-effluents. The areaneeds to be monitored regularly for trace metal, especially heavy metal enrichment.     

贵州赫章土法炼锌导致的重金属积累

贵州省赫章县的土法炼锌不仅导致植被的破坏,而且使附近土壤和溪流沉积物中重金属有不同程度的积累,土壤中w(Pb)达到37.24×10~(-6)～30100×10~(6),w(Zn)为162.23×10~(-6)～31625×10~(-6),w(Cd)为0.50×10~(-6)～113×10~(-6),大大超过了当地的土壤背景值;沉积物中w(Pb)达到325.00×10~(-6)～21850×10~(-6),w(Zn)为1250.00×10~(-6)～30425×10~(-6),w(Cd)为25×10~(-6)～97×10~(-6)。土壤和沉积物中Pb、Zn含量与Fe_2O_3有极显著的正相关性;土壤中重金属Pb、Zn含量与Al_2O_3有极显著的正相关性,而沉积物中Pb、Zn含量与Al_2O_3则没有相关性。土壤和沉积物中铁矿物(铁氧化物和氢氧化物)对重金属的强烈固定作用。连续提取法对化学形态研究表明,Pb、Zn在土壤中主要表现为铁锰氧化物结合态与残渣态,而在沉积物中则主要为碳酸盐结合态、残渣态和铁锰氧化物结合态。土壤中可交换态Pb、Zn所占的比例很小,但其绝对含量变化较大,w(Pb)从最低2.75×10~(-6)到最高310.41×10~(-6),w(Zn)4.94×10~(-6)～321.10×10~(-6)。沉积物中w(Pb)7.42×10~(-6)～98.91×10~(-6);w(Zn)9.97×10~(-6)～72.67×10~(-6)。土壤中重金属Pb、Zn的有效性程度明显高于溪流沉积物,对生态环境的潜在危害更大。     

Mercury emission from the indigenous mercury smelting in Wuchuan mercury mining areas, Guizhou Province, China

Mercury smelting is one of the important anthropogenic atmospheric mercury emission sources. Small-scale mercury smelting activities with indigenous method which is considered illegal and forbidden by local government always extensively existed in the Wuchuan area, northeastern Guizhou Province, China. Because of the simple processes without any environmental protection, a large amount of mercury vapor released to the ambient air during the processing of cinnabar roasting. By determining mercury concentrations in mercury ore and smelting slag samples, a mass balance method was used to calculate mercury emission factors and annual mercury emission from indigenous mercury smelting in Wuchuan mercury mining areas, Guizhou Province, China. The mercury emission factors ranged from 6.9% to 32.1% with the recovery from 78.4% to 93.6% and the annual mercury emission was up to 3.7-9.6 metric tons. The results highlighted that the indigenous mercury smelting was one of the most important anthropogenic atmospheric mercury emission sources in this region.     

Chinese Bio-oxidation Gold Extraction Technology Reaches International Advanced Level

In Liaoning, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Sichuan, Anhui, Jilin and other provinces in China, there is a wide occurrence of metal quantity over 1000 tons of refractory gold ores, principally because of low gold recoveries and become ＂stay mine＂. Features of refi＇actory gold ores are： gold in micro-particles or a microscopic state that is wrapped in pyrite, presence of arsenopyrite and other sulfide minerals or disseminated in the crystal lattice of sulfide minerals; harmful impurity elements such as arsenic, carbon, mercury, antimony, copper with high content are closely related with the gold, and these elements affect the contact reaction between the gold and solvent extraction, making the recovery of the gold extraction process low. In the past 20 years, overseas countries have developed the application of the roasting oxidation method, hot acid （alkali） oxidation, bacterial oxidation and flash chlorination oxidation technology to solve this problem.Among these, biological oxidation has developed rapidly in the domestic market and gold enterprises abroad because of its low investment in infrastructure, low production costs, less environmental pollution, simple process and easy control, etc.     

Heavy metal pollution from copper smelting during the Shang Dynasty at the Laoniupo site in the Bahe River valley,Guanzhong Basin,China

Heavy metal pollution is hazardous for the environment and human health. However,there are few studies of heavy metal pollution caused by historic metallurgical activity. The Laoniupo site in the Bahe River valley, Guanzhong Basin, China, was an important settlement of the Shang Culture(1600–1046 BCE). We studied two stratigraphic profiles at the Laoniupo site, which were used for measurements of magnetic susceptibility, heavy metal concentrations, and AMS ~(14) C ages to provide evidence of copper smelting activity at the site during the Shang Dynasty. The Nemerow Pollution Index and Geoaccumulation Index were calculated to assess the heavy metals record(Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr, and As) in the topsoil on the loess tableland. According to the Single Pollution Index, the topsoil was slightly polluted by As and unpolluted by Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb and Cr; according to the Nemerow Composite Pollution Index the topsoil was mildly polluted; and according to the Geoaccumulation Index, the topsoil was moderately polluted by As, slightly polluted by Cu, and unpolluted by Zn, Ni, Pb and Cr. The main cause of the heavy metal pollution in the topsoil is the presence of copper slag in the cultural layers that was disturbed by modern farming activity.     

四川攀枝花矿山公园创建及其意义

攀枝花钒钛磁铁矿的发现、勘探过程,矿石开采过程,矿石分选、冶炼过程以及钢、钛产品的加工过程等,每个过程都具有极高的科普价值、科考价值,同时具有极高的旅游观赏价值,将其作为旅游景观资源,创建攀枝花矿山公园意义重大。     

Leaching behaviour of slag and fly ash from laterite nickel ore smelting (Niquelândia,Brazil)

The laterite nickel (Ni) ore smelting operation in Niquelândia (Goiás state, Brazil) produced large amounts of smelting wastes, stockpiled on dumps (slags) and in settling ponds (fly ash). In this study we present data on the chemistry, mineralogy and pH-dependent leaching behaviours of these two waste materials.Bulk chemical analyses indicated that both wastes contained significant amounts of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), with substantially higher concentrations in the case of the fly ash (up to 2.51 wt% Ni, 1870 mg/kg Cr and 488 mg/kg Co). The mineralogical investigations carried out using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron microprobe (EPMA) indicated that the slag was mainly composed of silicate glass, olivine and pyroxene. In contrast, the fly ash was composed of Ni-bearing serpentine-like phases (originating from the furnace feed), Ni-bearing glass, olivine, pyroxene and spinel. The pH-dependent leaching behaviour was performed according the EU standard experimental protocol (CEN/TS 14997) in the pH range of 3–12. The leaching was highly pH-dependent for both materials, and the highest releases of PTEs occurred at pH 3. The slag generally exhibited an U-shaped leaching behaviour of the PTEs as a function of pH, and was found to release up to 48.0 mg/kg Ni, 25.6 mg/kg Cr, and 1.42 mg/kg Co. The fly ash was significantly more reactive, and exhibited its highest leaching level of PTEs between pH 3 and 7. The maximum observed release corresponded to 5750 mg/kg Ni, 4.35 mg/kg Cr, and 112 mg/kg Co. The leached Ni concentrations after 24 h of leaching in deionized water exceeded the limit for hazardous waste by more than 100x according to the EU legislation (40 mg/kg Ni). X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structures (EXAFS) spectra indicated that Ni in the fly ash is predominantly bound in a serpentine-like phase, and during the fly ash experimental alteration it was mainly released from the second shell (corresponding to the atomic distances between Ni and Si, Mg, Fe in high-temperature silicates, glass, and partially dissolved serpentine). This study shows that disposal sites for the fly ash can represent a significant source of local pollution, and direct recycling of the fly ash in the smelting technology (as currently adopted at the Barro Alto new smelter and since few years also at the Niquelândia smelter) is the best environment-friendly option for handling of fly ash in the future.