Centro Experimental de Ingeniería, Technological University of Panama, Vía Tocumen, 0819-07289, Panama City, Panama; Instituto de Geología Aplicada, Castilla-La Mancha University, EIMI Almadén, Plaza Manuel Meca 1, Almadén, 13400, Ciudad Real, Spain; Department of Geology & Geochemistry, Autonomous University of Madrid, University City of Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
Centro Experimental de Ingeniería, Technological University of Panama, Vía Tocumen, 0819-07289, Panama City, Panama.
J Environ Manage. 2022 Jan 15;302(Pt A):113979. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113979. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
Mine tailings are a potential source of environmental pollution because they typically contain potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and the residue of chemical compounds used during extraction processes. The Remance gold mine (NW Panama) is a decommissioned mine with mining activity records dating from the 1800s and several periods of abandonment. Very little remediation work has been performed, and waste is exposed to climatic conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the PTEs and cyanide contents in mine waste after mining operations ceased some 20 years ago, and to evaluate the degree of pollution and the environmental risks they pose with the use of the Pollution Load Index (PLI) and the Ecological Risk Index (RI). Although the total cyanide (T-CN) concentration (1.4-1.9 mg kg) found in most of the study area falls within the limits of gold mining tailing values for American sites (1.5-23 mg kg), it is worth noting that the values of the tailings of the last used mining operation exceed it (25.2-518 mg kg) and persist at the site. The PLI and RI suggest that the tailings from the mine and mine gallery sediments represent a source of pollution for soils and surrounding areas given their high content of PTEs (As, Cu, Sb, Hg) and T-CN, which pose serious ecological risks for biota. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up a remediation plan for this area.
矿山尾矿是环境污染的潜在来源,因为它们通常含有潜在的有毒元素(PTEs)和提取过程中使用的化合物的残留。雷曼斯金矿(巴拿马西北部)是一座废弃的矿山,其采矿活动记录可以追溯到 19 世纪和几个废弃时期。几乎没有进行过任何补救工作,废物暴露在气候条件下。本研究旨在评估大约 20 年前停止采矿作业后矿山废物中的 PTEs 和氰化物含量,并使用污染负荷指数(PLI)和生态风险指数(RI)评估其污染程度和环境风险。尽管大多数研究区域的总氰化物(T-CN)浓度(1.4-1.9 mg kg)属于美国金矿尾矿值的范围内(1.5-23 mg kg),但值得注意的是,最后一次采矿作业的尾矿值超过了这一范围(25.2-518 mg kg),并且在该地点仍然存在。PLI 和 RI 表明,由于矿山和矿硐沉积物中含有大量的 PTEs(As、Cu、Sb、Hg)和 T-CN,这些尾矿和矿硐沉积物是土壤和周围地区污染的来源,对生物群构成了严重的生态风险。因此,有必要为该地区制定一项补救计划。
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