Mass balance of arsenic fluxes in rivers impacted by gold mining activities in Paracatu (Minas Gerais State, Brazil)
Autor: | Ricardo Sierpe, Maria Carla Barreto Santos, Ricardo Cesar, Lílian Irene Dias da Silva, Edison Dausacker Bidone, Emmanuel Vieira Silva-Filho, Zuleica Carmen Castilhos, Vinicius Tavares Kütter |
---|---|
Rok vydání: | 2018 |
Předmět: |
Pollution
Arsenic pollution Gold mining Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis media_common.quotation_subject chemistry.chemical_element 010501 environmental sciences 010502 geochemistry & geophysics 01 natural sciences River water Mining Arsenic Rivers Environmental monitoring Humans Environmental Chemistry 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common Hydrology business.industry General Medicine chemistry Human exposure Environmental science Gold Dissolved load business Brazil Water Pollutants Chemical Environmental Monitoring |
Zdroj: | Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 25:9085-9100 |
ISSN: | 1614-7499 0944-1344 |
Popis: | Arsenic (As) is a dangerous and carcinogenic element and drinking water is its main pathway of human exposure. Gold mines are widely recognized as important sources of As pollution. This work proposes the assessment of As distribution along watersheds surrounding "Morro do Ouro" gold mine (Paracatu, southeastern Brazil). A balance approach between filtered As fluxes (As 0.45 μm) and suspended particulate material (AsSPM) in different river segments was applied. Ultrafiltration procedure was used to categorize As into the following classes: particulate 0.1 μm, colloidal 0.1 μm to 10 kDa, dissolved 10 kDa to 1 kDa, and truly dissolved 1 kDa. By applying this approach, arsenic contributions from mining facilities were quantified in order to identify critical fluvial segments and support decision makers in actions of remediation. The mass balance indicated the occurrence of a decreasing gradient from upstream to downstream: (i) of the As concentrations higher than the limit established by Brazilian law (10 μg L |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
Externí odkaz: |