Setu Shamsunnahar, Strezov Vladimir
School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Sci Total Environ. 2025 Mar 15;969:178962. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178962. Epub 2025 Feb 28.
Mining activities significantly contribute to soil contamination, posing risks to the environment and human health. This study evaluates the environmental and health impacts of four non-ferrous mining types, which have been rarely examined globally. It highlights gaps in existing datasets from selected mining sites and sampling practices, correlating soil pollutants with atmospheric variables. Overall, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) of all mine soil types were in the order Hg > Cd > As>Cu > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cr > Mn > Co indicating that Hg and Cd are the main metals posing risks from soil pollution associated with all mining activities. Notably, the highest As contamination (Igeo: class 6) occurs in copper mines in China, Russia, and Portugal, and in lead‑zinc mines in Sweden and Mexico. Cd contamination (Igeo: class 6) was most severe in lead‑zinc mine soils across Tunisia, China, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, Mexico, France, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Egypt, while uranium mines in the USA showed notably lower levels of Cd contamination (Igeo: class 2). Hg contamination levels were higher in gold mine-associated soils in Iran, China, Myanmar, Brazil and Nigeria. About half of the sites faced the highest ecological risks from lead‑zinc mining areas in Vietnam, Tunisia, and Sweden, while copper mines in Cyprus, China, and Portugal had only 8 % in that category. Gold mines in China, Nigeria, and Brazil showed considerable risks from As and Hg, whereas uranium mines in Germany and Bulgaria had a lower ecological risk, due to better environmental management. The primary exposure route for heavy metals is ingestion, with the hazard index (HI) for non-carcinogenic impacts being acceptable for most elements, except for As. Carcinogenic risks are notably present in Brazil, Spain, Slovenia, Mexico, China, and the UK. Hence, this review underscores the urgent need to address heavy metal pollution from global metal mining and offers policy recommendations for effective environmental management and restoration efforts.
采矿活动对土壤污染有重大影响，对环境和人类健康构成风险。本研究评估了四种有色金属采矿类型对环境和健康的影响，而全球范围内对这四种采矿类型的研究很少。该研究突出了所选矿区现有数据集和采样方法中存在的差距，将土壤污染物与大气变量相关联。总体而言，所有矿土类型的地累积指数（Igeo）顺序为Hg＞Cd＞As＞Cu＞Pb＞Zn＞Ni＞Cr＞Mn＞Co，这表明Hg和Cd是与所有采矿活动相关的土壤污染中构成风险的主要金属。值得注意的是，中国、俄罗斯和葡萄牙的铜矿以及瑞典和墨西哥的铅锌矿中出现了最高的As污染（Igeo：6级）。突尼斯、中国、爱尔兰、西班牙、斯洛文尼亚、墨西哥、法国、北马其顿、保加利亚和埃及的铅锌矿土壤中Cd污染最为严重（Igeo：6级），而美国的铀矿Cd污染水平明显较低（Igeo：2级）。伊朗、中国、缅甸、巴西和尼日利亚与金矿相关的土壤中Hg污染水平较高。越南、突尼斯和瑞典的铅锌矿区约一半的场地面临最高的生态风险，而塞浦路斯、中国和葡萄牙的铜矿只有8%属于这一类别。中国、尼日利亚和巴西的金矿显示出As和Hg带来的相当大风险，而德国和保加利亚的铀矿由于环境管理较好，生态风险较低。重金属的主要暴露途径是摄入，除As外，大多数元素的非致癌影响危害指数（HI）是可接受的。巴西、西班牙、斯洛文尼亚、墨西哥、中国和英国存在明显的致癌风险。因此，本综述强调迫切需要解决全球金属采矿造成的重金属污染问题，并为有效的环境管理和修复工作提供政策建议。
