R. Salminen et P. Sipila, THE ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT OF SULFIDE MINES MEASURED WITH ORGANOGENIC SAMPLING MEDIA, Applied geochemistry, 11(1-2), 1996, pp. 277-283
The environmental impact of an active and an abandoned mine was studie
d using several different sampling media. The emphasis was on organic
and organic-rich materials such as humus, moss and organic stream sedi
ment. The chemical processes in the waste were studied in samples obta
ined by drilling through the waste into the ground beneath. Both total
and bioavailable element concentrations were measured. The abundances
of more than 30 elements were determined, but since the distribution
patterns were similar, discussion in this paper is focused on As, Cd,
Cu, Fe, S and Zn. The high capacity of humus, moss and organic sedimen
ts for binding heavy metals and S made them excellent media for studyi
ng the distribution of elements in the vicinity of the mining area. Th
e airborne contamination from the active mine was detectable at distan
ces of 2 to 3 km, but from the abandoned mines only about 100 m. The a
irborne distribution patterns recorded for the various elements were a
pproximately the same for all sampling media and analytical methods. C
opyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd