Department of Mining Engineering and Mine Survey, University of Johannesburg, 55 Beit St, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa.
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, Braamfontein 2050, South Africa.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul 8;17(14):4929. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17144929.
The windy season brings numerous community complaints for gold mining companies situated in the Witwatersrand due to windblown dust from partially rehabilitated tailings storage facilities (TSFs). For communities encroaching onto TSFs, windblown dust is perceived as a health hazard and an environmental challenge. In a study conducted in 2017 by the Lawyers for Human Rights, the community of a gold mine village perceived tailings storage facility 6 (TSF6) and other surrounding tailings storage facilities which are partially rehabilitated to be a health and socio-economic threat. Since 2013, when a nearby gold mining company was liquidated, this community has been complaining about dust fallout. To validate the claims made by the community this paper reports on the dust deposition impacts, and respiratory illnesses risk posed by wind-blown generated dust. The study conducts an air quality assessment using dispersion modelling of windblown dust. Surface material from the TSFs was sampled, analysed for silica and heavy metal content using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) respectively. This study finds that PM dust fallout, high in silica and uranium content, could potentially pose health threats to the surrounding community. The study further shows that dust deposition is the highest in July-October, with TSF6 posing a nuisance while TSF1 represents a potential health threat owing to its particle size distribution for the surrounding gold mine village community. Potential receptors of the air pollution by dust in this study area include neighbouring property owners, business owners of the nearby shopping centre, the school and the clinic. This study further finds that sudden mine closure due to mine liquidation results in unrehabilitated tailings storage facilities which exacerbates dust deposition.
多风季节给位于威特沃特斯兰德的金矿公司带来了大量社区投诉，原因是部分修复的尾矿储存设施（TSF）产生的扬尘。对于侵占 TSF 的社区来说，扬尘被视为健康危害和环境挑战。在 2017 年由人权律师组织进行的一项研究中，一个金矿村社区认为尾矿储存设施 6（TSF6）和其他周围部分修复的尾矿储存设施对健康和社会经济构成威胁。自 2013 年附近一家金矿公司清算以来，该社区一直在抱怨扬尘问题。为了验证社区的说法，本文报告了扬尘沉降的影响以及扬尘产生的呼吸疾病风险。该研究通过风扬尘扩散模型进行空气质量评估。从 TSF 采集表面材料，使用 X 射线荧光（XRF）和电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）分别分析二氧化硅和重金属含量。本研究发现，PM 扬尘沉降物中含有高浓度的二氧化硅和铀，可能对周围社区构成健康威胁。研究进一步表明，7 月至 10 月扬尘沉降量最高，TSF6 造成滋扰，而 TSF1 则因粒径分布而对周围金矿村社区构成潜在健康威胁。该研究区域内扬尘空气污染的潜在受体包括附近物业所有者、附近购物中心的企业主、学校和诊所。本研究还发现，由于矿山清算导致矿山突然关闭，未修复的尾矿储存设施使扬尘沉降加剧。
