Analysis of the airborne mercury and particulate arsenic levels close to an abandoned waste dump and buildings of a mercury mine and the potential risk of atmospheric pollution

Hector Garcia Gonzalez,Efren García-Ordiales,Rafael Rodriguez Diez

doi:10.1007/s42452-022-04964-7

Hector Garcia Gonzalez, Efren García-Ordiales + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-022-04964-7

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Abstract

The project SUBproducts4LIFE is a research project financed by the European Union within the framework of the LIFE programme which proposes to demonstrate innovative circular economy concepts by the reuse of industrial subproducts/waste (coal ash and gypsum from coal power plants, blast furnace slag and steelmaking slag from steel factories) for the remediation at a real scale of contaminated soils and brownfield areas related to Hg mining. The area it is developing includes the waste dumps and demolition waste of the metallurgical plant of the abandoned mercury mine La Soterraña in Asturias, Northern Spain. Before this restoration research project takes place, this paper aims to evaluate airborne mercury and arsenic levels in land strongly contaminated with arsenic and mercury. The goal is to evaluate the air quality and compare it with international literature under reference levels. The study sampled gaseous mercury with a high-resolution direct reading device (LUMEX RA-915) and arsenic and mercury particulates with an IOM sampler, Casella personal pump, analyzed in the laboratory, to ensure the Health and Safety of workers, visitors and pedestrians walking near the mine and near the villages. The study concludes that As and Hg levels in the air are below 1 μg/m3 for the general public and villages near the mine. For works in the rubble area in the mine, it is recommended that workers use personal protective equipment and control measures are used to keep arsenic and mercury levels as low as technically possible.Article HighlightsGaseous Hg and airborne Hg and As particulates are measured in a strongly contaminated mercury mining and metallurgy site.High concentration of gaseous Hg is present in the strongly contaminated soils; therefore protective measures must be adopted for workers.Apart from an area with demolition rubble of a metallurgical plant, airborne Hg-As contamination is not harmful to workers or the general public.

Highlights

1.1 La Soterraña mineAbandoned mines can create significant environmental and social problems, there are thousands of examples worldwide
In Asturias, there were more than 20 mercury exploitations; the main two were Soterraña in Pola de Lena and La Peña-El Terronal in Mieres [4]
The inhalable fraction corresponds to the mass of particles whose aerodynamic diameter is between 0 and 100 μm [26], fraction used for airborne metal sampling

Summary

Introduction

Abandoned mines can create significant environmental and social problems, there are thousands of examples worldwide. Before environmental regulations, mining lands were left without any remediation plans. More than a million abandoned mines are estimated to exist around the world [1]. There are several problems, for example, heavy metals, acid mine drainage, soil and water contamination, etc. In Spain, mercury mining was very productive during the sixties and seventies [3]. In Asturias, there were more than 20 mercury exploitations; the main two were Soterraña in Pola de Lena and La Peña-El Terronal in Mieres [4]. These mines were abandoned without any restoration plans, and there is a health problem for the region. The Soterraña mine is one of the most contaminated sites in Europe [5]

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