A comprehensive environmental investigation of an active artillery range

McMurdo Station is the largest research station in Antarctica, with a population that ranges each year from 250 to 1200 people. Because of its size and 40-year history of use, a number of locations around the station have become contaminated with wastes. Soils and sediments in these areas have been shown to contain elevated levels of petroleum-related products, PCBs, other organics, and metals. While some remedial investigations have been conducted, background levels of metals in soils have not been determined. This paper reports on background levels of metals in a natural basalt-derived soil ('gray soil') and scoria (soft porous rock used as fill, 'red soil') near McMurdo Station using two fundamentally different analytical procedures, concentrated acid extraction/analysis and total metals. These data facilitate determining the extent and levels of metal contamination near McMurdo Station and provide reference levels of metals for comparison with existing and future remediation data. There were statistically significant differences between metals concentrations in both gray and red soils, and no correlations between the level of extracted versus total metal. Generally, only a small fraction of a metal was extractable.

Sample of soil and plant (Sida acuta burm F.) were collected from 30 sites of 24 roads. The samples were analyzed for Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Mn using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The soil physico-chemical parameter, pH and particle size distribution was also determined. Levels of Pb, Cd,Zn, Cu and Mn in soil were 15.28 – 76.92, 1.96 – 9.80, 41.66 – 237.96, 1.60 – 4.88 and 76.00 – 132.00 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. Results of concentrations in plants ranged were from trace – 32.37, 4.88 – 14.93, 27.78 – 185.19, 1.67 – 3.89 and 20.00 – 110.00 mg/kg dry weight for Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Mn, respectively. The soil pH was from 6.22 – 8.44 while sand and loamy sandy textural classes constitute the soil samples. For both experimental soil and plant samples, the mean concentrations were found to follow the decreasing orders; Zn > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cd and Zn > Mn > Pb > Cd > Cu, respectively. Mild correlation between traffic density and metals in samples with the exception of plant Pb content, suggest that automobile emission couple with waste dispose along the roads remain a threat. The findings in general indicate the levels of metals in soil and plant samples were within the EU limits with the exception of Cd. In addition, the high level of Cd appears to reach pollution levels and metal dynamics up the food chain is highly possible.

Environmental contaminants from mining activities are becoming problematic in the developing world, necessitating greater attention to their fate and transportation. In particular, gold mining activities that utilize strong lixiviants may result in heavy metal dissolution and distribution to environmental compartments. This study aimed to determine the status of some selected heavy metals in stream water, sediment and agricultural soil near a large-scale cyanidation gold mining operation, Laga Dambi. Ethiopia. The stream water, sediment and soil samples were digested under optimal digestion conditions. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer was used to determine the concentrations of Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, Sn, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in samples collected from potentially contaminated sites associated with the Laga Dambi gold mine and control sites. The mine is notable because it is disposed of tailings in an impoundment created in a stream zone, where the stream flows over the tailings facility before exiting the mine site. The mean concentrations of the heavy metals in stream water and sediment were generally higher than the recommended levels reported by international agencies. The mean concentrations of Sn, Cr, Cd, and Hg were also high in agricultural soil that received irrigation water from the mine down gradient rivers. In general, stream water, sediment and agricultural soils were found to contain high concentrations of heavy metals, particularly Hg and As, which are typically associated with gold mining. The findings show that the heavy metal concentrations of stream water, stream bank sediment, and agricultural soil were high, indicating an increased risk for community exposure during consumption under the current conditions. On the basis of these findings, we strongly recommend strict monitoring and regulatory control of the study area to protect the environment and health of exposed populations.

The Tanat Valley area of North Powys, Wales, has a long history of metalliferous mining, the most active period of extraction being during the 18th century, while the largest mine, Llangynog, was in production until 1899. Ore minerals found in the area include galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). Below the Llangynog mine the valley is heavily contaminated with elevated levels of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd in soils and river sediments. On the valley floor subsoil metal levels frequently greatly exceed those of topsoils which probably reflects contamination of the floodplain during the peak period of mining. High levels of base metals in the stream sediments some 2 km downstream of the mine area are thought to be due to river erosion of the contaminated bank material. Contamination derived from the old mine tips results in extremely high levels of heavy metals in soils and stream sediments in the immediate vicinty of the old workings. Some metal contamination is also thought to derive from previously undetected mineralisation.

A comparison of regional geochemical data from lakes and streams in northern Labrador; implications for mixed-media geochemical mapping

Soil and sediment phosphorus fractions in a forested watershed at Acadia National Park, ME, USA

Trace Metal Soil Quality Criteria to Protect Ground Water

The study evaluates levels of metals in soils of 9 locations in Port Harcourt and its environs in Rivers State in Nigeria. Composite samples were collected by random sampling from each of the 9 test locations, 3 control samples were also collected from each of the study areas. Concentration levels of (Lead) Pb, (Copper) Cu, (Cadmium) Cd, (Zinc) Zn, (Calcium) Ca, (Nickel) Ni, (Sodium) Na, (Potassium) K, (Chromium) Cr, (Magnesium) Mg, (Manganese) Mn, and (Sulphur) S in soil were measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The obtained mean levels of Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn, Ca, Ni, Na, K, Cr, Mn and Mg were 1.45±0.16, 0.22±0.04, 0.04±0.01, 2.61±0.51, 12.99±4.81, 0.75±0.08, 173.64±35.31, 6.06±1.58, 0.27±0.03, 4.21±0.61 and 11.87±2.10 ppm respectively. There were significant differences in levels of Pb among the test and control samples (p=.048). There was significant difference in levels of Cu among the test and control samples (p=0.001). There was significant difference in levels of Zn among the test and control samples (p=0.016). The study establishes that urbanization, industrialization and agricultural activities do affect the level of metals in the soils of the study areas. The pollution of soils with metals in the studied sites is within permissible limits, however, levels of Zn, Cd and Ni should be on close monitoring to in the industrial areas and urbanized areas. The study establishes that oil and gas activities variedly affect the levels of metal pollution in urbanized, industrialized and agricultural areas. Keywords: Anthropogenic activities, Metals, Impact, Ecosystem, Integrity

Metal transport, partition and fixation in drainage waters and sediments in carbonate terrain in Southeastern Ontario

Developing protocols for geochemical baseline studies: An example from the Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA

The use of portable X-ray spectrometer in monitoring anthropogenic toxic metals pollution in soils and sediments of urban environment of Dar es Salaam Tanzania

The seasonal distribution and concentration of antibiotics in rural streams and drinking wells in the piedmont of North Carolina

The contamination of environmental sites due to the presence of persistent species represents an important issue to be tackled. In particular, the presence of high levels of metals in soil and surface water is more frequent. One of the metals that sometimes exceeds the permissible limit set by regulatory authorities is copper. For instance, copper-based fungicides are widely used in viticulture. However, copper ions remain in soil and can enter the food chain, posing threats to human health and environmental safety. Although the rapid detection of copper ions using portable sensors is effective in enhancing early warning, it sometimes solves only half of the problem as remediation is not considered. In this paper, we present a novel integrated/portable approach that merges the remediation and sensing of metals by proposing a remediate-and-sense concept. In order to realize this concept, alginate beads were coupled with printed electrochemical strips for on-site copper detection. Within the same architecture, alginate beads were used to remove copper ions from the soil, and printed electrochemical strips were used to evaluate the efficacy of remediation at the point of need. The concept was applied towards soil containing copper ions at the parts per billion level; with few alginate beads and in the absence of additional species, copper ions were quantitatively removed from the matrix; and 3D printing allowed us to combine the printed strips and spheres within a unique tool. The architecture was optimized and the results were compared to inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements with a recovery percentage of 90%-110%. It should be noted that this novel portable approach may be applied to other pollutants, opening new possibilities for integrated remediation and sensing.

Environmental impact of metalliferous black shales at Talvivaara in Finland, with indication of lake acidification 9000 years ago

Greywater recycling has been identified as an efficient method to conserve water. The purpose of this study was to investigate some selected hydrochemical characteristics, plant nutrients and metal content of greywater and soils in residential areas of Homa Bay town. Laundry greywater had the highest pH (9.1 ± 0.01), Electrical conductivity (2900 ± 215 � S cm -1 ) and salinity (0.4 ± 0.02 - 0.8 ± 0.01 mg L -1 ). The lowest electrical conductivity (400 ± 50 � S cm -1 ) was recorded in bathing greywater. The highest SAR (4.63 ± 0.23) was recorded in laundry gerywater from non-sewered households and the lowest SAR (0.72 ± 0.12) in kitchen greywater from sewered households. The SAR values of greywater in Homa Bay were lower than the acceptable limit of 6 for moderate restriction on the use of such water for irrigation. The SAR values for soils in Homa Bay were 2.12 ± 0.13 and 4.21 ± 0.11 in soils that had received kitchen and bathing greywater respectively and 27 ± 0.5 for rainfed soil. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sodium, Iron, Copper, Cadmium and Chromium concentration were highest in laundry greywater. The highest values of Zinc and Manganese were in kitchen greywater from non-sewered households. Levels of metals in soils that had been exposed to greywater were lower than the recommended limits. A significant (p<0.05) positive correlation was recorded between concentration of Cd in bathing greywater and in the soil. A significant (p<0.05) negative correlation between the concentration of Cu in kitchen greywater and in soils was also recorded.