The environmental impact of Aguilar mine on the heavy metal concentrations of the Yacoraite River, Jujuy Province, NW Argentina
| Autor: | Jesica Murray, Alicia Kirschbaum, Marcelo Arnosio, Ahinoam Equiza, Geraldo Resende Boaventura, Emilce de las Mercedes López |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Pollution
Wet season media_common.quotation_subject Soil Science engineering.material Ciencias de la Tierra y relacionadas con el Medio Ambiente purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https] purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5 [https] POLLUTION Galena Tributary Dry season HEAVY METALS medicine Environmental Chemistry Casa Grande YACORAITE RIVER Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology media_common Hydrology Global and Planetary Change geography ARGENTINA geography.geographical_feature_category Geology Seasonality medicine.disease Sphalerite engineering Environmental science MINING ACTIVITY Meteorología y Ciencias Atmosféricas CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS |
| Zdroj: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas instacron:CONICET |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s12665-011-1496-8 |
| Popis: | The Yacoraite River and its tributaries run down the eastern slope of the Aguilar Range. It is one of the tributaries of the Rio Grande, located in Quebrada de Humahuaca, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Aguilar underground mine (Pb-Ag-Zn) is located in the upper reaches of the Yacoraite River drainage basin. The aim of this work is to characterize the presence of heavy metals in water and sediments of the Yacoraite River and to identify their sources. The analysis shows the seasonal variation of heavy metals concentration in water and their relation with the World Health Organization (WHO) limits established for human consumption. The Yacoraite basin is naturally anomalous in some metals and some elements, such as As which is controlled by the chemical composition of regional lithology. During the wet season, Al, Co, Mo and Pb concentrations in water samples are higher than during the dry season; in addition, these metals are also higher than WHO limit values. High enrichment factors for Ba, Mo, Pb, Zn and Cd were found in Casa Grande stream, indicating the direct influence of the mining activities. Cd, Pb and Zn are present in the Aguilar ore minerals, such as sphalerite and galena. Sediments collected during the dry season show a drastic increase in the concentration of As, Pb, Ba, Zn, Cd and Mn. The Müller geo-accumulation index in Casa Grande indicates that it is a highly polluted stream. The concentrations of As, Pb, Ba, Zn, Cd are also high in Yacoraite River: Security Quality Guidelines indicates toxicity. A decrease in enrichment factors and geo-accumulation indices observed in sediments indicates the occurrence of precipitation/adsorption processes in the river to restore the equilibrium composition. Strict environmental controls in Aguilar Mine are necessary to avoid the uncontrolled input of toxic metals in Casa Grande stream and Yacoraite River. © 2011 Springer-Verlag. Fil: Kirschbaum, Alicia Matilde. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina Fil: Murray, Jesica María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina Fil: López, Emilce de Las Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina Fil: Equiza, Ahinoam. Ingeniería Sin Fronteras; Argentina Fil: Arnosio, José Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina Fil: Boaventura, Geraldo. Universidade do Brasília; Brasil |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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