Characterization of Kolar gold field mine tailings for cyanide and acid drainage

The gold mining process at Kolar gold field (KGF) mines has generated about 32 million tons of tailings. Gold was extracted from the mined ores using cyanidation technique that involved dissolution of gold in the ore by water soluble alkali metal cyanides (example, sodium cyanide or potassium cyanide). Of the several dumps that received the mine tailings only the Kennedy’s Line dump was active prior to closure of the KGF mines in the year 2000. The Kennedy’s Line dump received sulfide bearing tailings in slurry form that comprised of spent ore and process water bearing soluble alkali metal cyanide. Depending on the pH of the tailing slurry, the free cyanides may exist as aqueous hydrogen cyanide that can escape to the atmosphere as hydrogen cyanide gas or occur as soluble cyanide (CN⁻) ions that can be leached by infiltrating water to the sub-surface environment. Additionally, the presence of pyrite minerals in the Kennedy’s Line dump makes them susceptible to acid drainage. This study examines the potential of gold tailings of Kennedy’s Line dump to release cyanide ions (CN⁻) and acid drainage to the sub-surface environment by performing physico-chemical and leaching tests with tailing samples collected from various depths of the dump, sub-surface soil samples beneath the dump and groundwater samples from vicinity of Kennedy’s Line dump. The chemical mechanisms responsible for the ambient cyanide and pH levels of the tailing dump, sub-surface soil samples and groundwater are also inferred from the laboratory results.     

Geochemistry of organic contaminants in Narragansett Bay sediments

Organic contaminants from several different chemical classes were analyzed in surface sediments along a transect from the head to the mouth of Narragansett Bay. The chemical classes included total hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, substituted benzotriazoles and phthalic acid esters. Sediment concentrations of all compounds were highest in the Providence River and decreased with distance downbay. The observed decreases were approximately exponential for all compounds; however, the distances at which the concentrations decreased to one-half of their initial concentrations (half-distances) were different.The depth distributions of these compounds in sediment cores from three locations were also investigated. A sediment core collected near the head of the bay (Conimicut Point) showed a well defined historical record of contaminant input to the bay. At a mid-bay location (North Jamestown), however, the record was smeared because of extensive bioturbation.A sediment core collected near the mouth of the bay (Rhode Island Sound) showed a subsurface increase for all of the measured compounds. The results of detailed analyses suggest that this horizon may have been influenced by dredge spoil material originally from the head of the bay.     

地下水的有机污染问题及其吸附作用评价

文章认为有机污染质已对地下水污染构成威胁,研究有机污染质在地下水系统中的迁移转化机制,建立有效的预测模型,具有十分重要的意义。有机污染质与地下水形成不溶混流体,对其运移进行评价的理论、方法及测试技术都不同于通常对易溶混污染质的评价。这项工作在我国刚刚起步,研究程度较低。文章讨论了有机污染质—地下水体系的一般物理、化学特征和运移控制方程,指出吸附作用是使有机污染质运移滞缓的重要原因,介绍了目前国外研究有机污染质吸附作用的几种试验及结果。     

Heavy metal contamination of soil around Pali Industrial Area,Rajasthan, India

Due to rapid industrialization, urbanization and intensive agriculture in India increasing contamination of heavy metals in soil has become a major concern. An environmental geochemical investigation was carried out in and around the Pali industrial development area of Rajasthan to determine the effect of contamination in the study area. Soil samples collected near the Pali industrial area were analyzed for Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sr and V contents by using Philips PW 2440 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Samples were collected from the industrial area of Pali from the top 10 cm layer of the soil. Most of the samples were collected near small streams adjacent to industrial areas, and near Bandi River. Levels of the metals in soils around the industrial area were found to be significantly higher than their normal distribution in soil such as Pb – 293 mg/kg, Cr – 240 mg/kg, Cu – 298 mg/kg, Zn – 1,364 mg/kg, Sr – 2,694 mg/kg and V – 377 mg/kg. High concentration of these toxic elements in soil is responsible for the development of toxicity in agriculture products, which in turn affects human life. Distribution of metals, their contents at different locations, correlation of heavy metals in soil and their effect on human health are discussed in the paper.     

Total variation diminishing schemes for pollutant transport in porous media

A bidimensional numerical model has been used in order to simulate the contaminant transport in the coastal groundwater area (Atlantic margin of the Rharb basin, Morocco). This groundwater is materialized by means of the salt contamination derived from several factors: evapotranspiration, lithological series formations, marine intrusion, and processes of interaction between water and rocks. In order to reduce the numerical diffusion and limit the numerical dispersion, we use the Superbee flux limiter as a total variation diminishing scheme to discretize the convective operator. This kind of discretization was applied to the coastal groundwater of the Rharb basin (Morocco). The results show that the Superbee flux limiter is efficient at drawing the path of the contaminant front with high accuracy. Consequently, this scheme could constitute an approach in water management and allows one to prevent the risks of pollution and to manage the groundwater resource from a durable development perspective. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

济南市区泉域地下水时空分布规律及污染物运移特性研究

泉水作为济南市的城市名片,具有重要的经济和社会价值,把握泉域内突发污染质泄漏对其产生的影响至关重要。本文概化建立了济南市的水文地质概念模型,利用地下水非稳定流数值模型对济南市区泉群附近范围的地下水进行了分析研究,得到了济南市区泉域内地下水的时空分布规律及污染物运移特性。在此基础上,分析某新建项目污染质泄漏对地下水环境产生的影响,通过设置不同的横纵向弥散度对污染物运移特性进行探究。结果表明,在泉群附近区域内,污染物纵向运移过程中对流起主要作用,纵向弥散度的取值影响较小; 而污染物横向运移过程中弥散起主要作用,横向弥散度的取值影响较大。本研究成果对泉群附近的地下水环境保护及地下水污染防控具有重要借鉴意义。     

欧美地下水有机污染调查评价进展

1999年中国地质调查局启动了第一个地下水有机污染调查项目,当时检测指标只有20个(包括11个挥发性有机污染物、8种有机氯农药和1种多环芳烃)。“十一五”的地下水有机污染调查必测项目包含了38项(挥发性指标28项、有机氯农药9项和1种多环芳烃),取得了地下水有机污染的基本资料。但从对国外文献的调研来看,地下水中有机污染的种类远远超过38种。为了更全面地掌握中国地下水的质量,有必要对不同地区或不同类型的地下水中典型的有机污染物的种类进行研究,为后续地下水有机污染调查的增项做准备。通过检索美国环保局(USEPA)、美国地质调查局(USGS)和欧盟(EU)近年来的地下水质量年度报告和相关文献,调研了地下水中典型有机污染物的类型,选出最常检出的有机污染物,形成最常检出的有机污染物的检出率排序表,列出了检出率高的前50个污染物的名单。     

城市褐色土地识别的方法与实践

褐色土地识别是其再开发的前提和基础。作者梳理国内外关于褐色土地定义,在此基础上界定褐色土地识别的概念,参考国外识别的经验并结合中国国情,制定褐色土地识别的框架和流程,并以福州市为例,选取2011年福州市国土资源局公开出让的35宗地块,实践城市褐色土地识别。通过第一阶段将地块原土地利用活动对照《重点污染源行业分类》标准进行筛选,选出疑似污染地块进行第二阶段环境污染信息收集和采样分析进行褐色土地识别,将褐色土地分为三类。结果显示：编号为03、04等25宗地块没有污染,识别为褐色土地类型Ⅰ;其余的疑似污染地块中,宗地编号为02、05等8地块,虽存在污染物,但污染物浓度低于标准值,识别为褐色土地类型Ⅱ;宗地编号为01、25地块的部分污染物浓度值超过标准值,需进行修复后才能再利用,识别为褐色土地类型Ⅲ。     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in plastics ingested by seabirds

The occurrence of plastic objects in the digestive tract was assessed in eight species of Procellariiformes collected in southern Brazil and the occurrence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the ingested plastics pellets and plastic fragments was evaluated. PCBs were detected in plastic pellets (491 ng g⁻¹) and plastic fragments (243-418 ng g⁻¹). Among the OCPs, p,p′-DDE had the highest concentrations, ranging from 68.0 to 99.0 ng g⁻¹. The occurrence of organic pollutants in post-consumer plastics supports the fact that plastics are an important source carrying persistent organic pollutants in the marine environment. Although transfer through the food chain may be the main source of exposure to POPs to seabirds, plastics could be an additional source for the organisms which ingest them, like Procellariiformes which are the seabirds most affected by plastic pollution.     

Tracing the influence of sewage discharge on coastal bays of Southern Vancouver Island (BC,Canada) using sedimentary records of phytoplankton

The impact of sewage and stormwater effluents on phytoplankton is investigated by comparing organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst abundance and diversity from 38 surface sediment samples, flanking southern Vancouver Island. Site locations include those directly adjacent to wastewater outfall at Clover and Macaulay Points and Saanich Peninsula, as well as from a variety of near-shore environments with differing tidal flow influences. Excellently preserved dinoflagellate cyst assemblages have been recovered and 36 cyst taxa were identified. Local assemblages are characterized by a high relative proportion (average 56%) of cysts produced by heterotrophic dinoflagellates, which is typical for regions of high primary production. Relative proportional increases of cysts from heterotrophic species with particular increases of Polykrikos kofoidii/schwartzii and Dubridinium species, known to reflect areas affected by eutrophication, occur directly adjacent to all three sewage outfalls, as well as in the more stagnant waters of Esquimalt and Victoria Harbours and at the mouth of Cadboro Bay. Further effects of an anthropogenic effluent can be seen in the relatively higher concentrations of organic carbon and the diatom production proxy, biogenic opal. Results from this study clearly indicate a much larger impact zone than predicted by a sewage effluent plume model or trends found in monitored benthic biota and sediment chemistry that evidence primary outfall affects <800 m eastward of Macaulay Point and about 200 m eastward of the Clover Point. Enhanced production of cysts from potentially toxic Alexandrium species is also observed near locations of sewage outfalls.