Stream bottom sediments as a means to assess metal contamination in the historic mining district of Almadén (Spain)
| Autor: | José María Esbrí, Pablo Higueras, Efrén García-Ordiales, M.A. Lominchar, Rocío Millán, Jorge Loredo |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
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| Zdroj: | International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment. 28:357-376 |
| ISSN: | 1748-0949 1748-0930 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/17480930.2014.967917 |
| Popis: | Located in the southern half of Spain, Almaden is the world’s largest Hg district and mercury has been mined there for over 2000 years. Its slag heaps and old metallurgy plants represent a risk to watercourses that flow through the district and receive the run-off from the mines. This study collected sediment samples along the length of the main watercourses in the mining district. High levels of heavy metals were detected, with Hg levels varying between 1.77 and 255.88 mg kg−1, Pb levels between 20.59 and 131.07 mg kg−1 and Zn levels between 59.06 and 131.07 mg kg−1. The dispersion of these heavy metals in rivers as a result of mining activities has caused sediment quality degradation. As such, when measured using reference indexes such as the SeQI and the EF, sediment quality for the entire district is practically poor, due to anthropogenic contributions, with the concomitant threat to the surrounding environment. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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