Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Huelva, Campus El Carmen, Avenida 3 de Marzo S/n 21007, Huelva, Spain; Research Center on Natural Resources, Health and the Environment, University of Huelva, Campus "El Carmen", 21007, Huelva, Spain.
Department of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad Del Cusco, Av. de La Cultura, 733, 921, Cusco, Peru.
Environ Pollut. 2023 Jan 1;316(Pt 2):120629. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120629. Epub 2022 Nov 9.
This study deals with the potential release of metal/loids from sulfide mine wastes upon weathering and the health risks associated with their accidental ingestion. To address this, a complete chemical and mineralogical characterization of a variety of sulfide mine wastes was performed alongside a determination of metal/loid bioaccessibility through leaching tests simulating human digestive and lung fluids. The mine wastes consisted predominantly of Fe (35-55% of FeO) and exhibited high concentrations of trace metalloids such as As (382-4310 mg/kg), Pb (205-15,974 mg/kg), Cu (78-1083 mg/kg), Zn (274-1863 mg/kg), or Sb (520-1816 mg/kg). Most wastes with high concentrations of soluble compounds are considered hazardous according to the European regulations due to the exceedance of threshold values for As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Sb, sulfates, and Zn determined by standardized tests. In general terms, the absorption of waste-hosted metals through both digestive and respiratory routes was low compared to the total metal contents of the wastes, with values below 8% of the total concentration in wastes for most metal/loids including Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Tl, or U. However, some metals exhibited a significantly higher absorption potential, especially through the respiratory route, reaching values of up to 17% for Cr and 75% for Pb, highlighting the strong bioaccessibility of Pb in certain sulfide wastes. Despite the high metal/loid concentrations observed in the studied wastes, a health risk assessment indicated that some non-carcinogenic effects could be observed in children only following the accidental digestion of Pb.
本研究探讨了硫化物矿废物在风化过程中释放金属/类金属的潜力以及与其意外摄入相关的健康风险。为了解决这个问题，我们对各种硫化物矿废物进行了全面的化学和矿物学特征描述，并通过模拟人体消化和肺部液体的浸出试验来确定金属/类金属的生物可利用性。这些矿废物主要由 Fe（占 FeO 的 35-55%）组成，并且含有高浓度的痕量类金属，如 As（382-4310mg/kg）、Pb（205-15974mg/kg）、Cu（78-1083mg/kg）、Zn（274-1863mg/kg）或 Sb（520-1816mg/kg）。由于根据标准化试验确定的 As、Pb、Cr、Cu、Sb、硫酸盐和 Zn 的阈值值超过了规定，因此大多数可溶性化合物浓度高的废物都被认为是危险的，符合欧洲法规。一般来说，与废物中金属总含量相比，通过消化和呼吸途径吸收废物中所含金属的量较低，对于大多数金属/类金属（包括 Cu、Zn、As、Cd、Tl 或 U），其值低于废物中总浓度的 8%。然而，某些金属表现出明显更高的吸收潜力，特别是通过呼吸途径，Cr 的吸收值高达 17%，Pb 的吸收值高达 75%，这突出了某些硫化物废物中 Pb 的强生物可利用性。尽管研究中废物中观察到的金属/类金属浓度很高，但健康风险评估表明，只有在儿童意外摄入 Pb 的情况下，才可能观察到一些非致癌效应。
