School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Guangzhou 510006, China.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jul 1;828:154346. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154346. Epub 2022 Mar 5.
In this study, the distributions of thallium (Tl), and other potential toxic elements, such as Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Sr, As, Cr, Ni, Zn, and Mn in needles, tree rings and soils of pine trees in one of the largest pyrite mining areas in the world, i.e., Yunfu, China were investigated. The results showed that pseudo-total Tl concentration of the tree rings ranged from 0.41 to 2.03 mg/kg (average: 1.12 mg/kg) during the year of 1998 to 2011. This indicates an overall obvious enrichment of Tl. Further investigation of element level variations in the pine needles showed a negative correlation between Tl content and the distance from the mining area. The results of Principal Component Analysis additionally demonstrated that Tl in the tree rings was most likely derived from the pine needles. Notably, Tl contents in the tree rings exhibited generally similar distribution pattern to the annual production intensity of Yunfu pyrite mining activities. The findings suggest that metal(loid)s in particular of Tl in pine tree rings can be used as alternative proxies to approximatively reconstruct the chronological change of atmospheric environmental pollution induced by pyrite associated mining/smelting activities.
本研究调查了世界上最大的黄铁矿矿区之一，即中国云浮的松树针叶、树木年轮和土壤中铊（Tl）以及其他潜在有毒元素（如 Cd、Co、Cu、Pb、Sr、As、Cr、Ni、Zn 和 Mn）的分布情况。结果表明，1998 年至 2011 年期间，树木年轮中的总铊浓度范围为 0.41 至 2.03mg/kg（平均值：1.12mg/kg），表明 Tl 整体明显富集。进一步研究松树针叶中元素水平的变化表明，Tl 含量与矿区的距离呈负相关。主成分分析的结果进一步表明，年轮中的 Tl 很可能来自于松树针叶。值得注意的是，年轮中 Tl 的含量与云浮黄铁矿开采活动的年生产强度表现出大致相似的分布模式。研究结果表明，特别是松树木轮中的金属（类）Tl 可以作为替代示踪剂，近似重建由黄铁矿伴生开采/冶炼活动引起的大气环境污染的时间变化。
