Ecological and Health Risk Assessments of an Abandoned Gold Mine (Remance, Panama): Complex Scenarios Need a Combination of Indices.

Tisla Monteza-Destro,Jonatha Arrocha,Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta,Pablo Higueras,Ana Cristina González-Valoys,Eva María García-Noguero,José María Esbrí,Juan Antonio Campos,Francisco Jesús García-Navarro,Eric Gutiérrez,Efrén Garcia-Ordiales,Rosario García-Giménez,Ernesto Martínez,Miguel Vargas-Lombardo

doi:10.3390/ijerph18179369

Abstract

The derelict Remance gold mine is a possible source of pollution with potentially toxic elements (PTEs). In the study area, diverse mine waste has been left behind and exposed to weather conditions, and poses risks for soil, plants and water bodies, and also for the health of local inhabitants. This study sought to perform an ecological and health risk assessment of derelict gold mining areas with incomplete remediation, including: (i) characterizing the geochemical distribution of PTEs; (ii) assessing ecological risk by estimating the pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI); (iii) assessing soil health by dehydrogenase activity; and iv) establishing non-carcinogenic (HI) and carcinogenic risks (CR) for local inhabitants. Soil health seems to depend on not only PTE concentrations, but also on organic matter (OM). Both indexes (PLI and RI) ranged from high to extreme near mining and waste accumulation sites. As indicated by both the HI and CR results, the mining area poses a health risk for local inhabitants and particularly for children. For this reason, it will be necessary to set up environmental management programs in the areas that are most affected (tailings and surrounding areas) and accordingly establish the best remediation strategies to minimize risks for the local population.

Highlights

Mining activities can potentially pollute the environment, especially when tailing materials are left exposed to weather conditions, which favor the release and dispersion of pollutants to the surrounding soil, plants, water bodies and humans [1,2,3,4]
The average concentrations of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from the different material types in the sampled Remance gold mine areas are presented in Table 4, while all of the obtained results appear in Table S2. pH ranged between 3.9 and 5.9
The abandoned Remance mine poses a risk for the health of the environment and its inhabitants, as different indicators revealed

Summary

Introduction

Mining activities can potentially pollute the environment, especially when tailing materials are left exposed to weather conditions, which favor the release and dispersion of pollutants to the surrounding soil, plants, water bodies and humans [1,2,3,4]. Assessing the possible impact on biota requires that certain indices be determined, such as the pollution load index (PLI) to evaluate the degree of contamination; the potential ecological risk index (RI). A specific soil function may involve several processes, and each process may be associated with a combination of soil chemical, physical, and biological properties [7]. In this sense, dehydrogenase activity (DHA) is a biological indicator that, added to the rest of the physical and chemical properties measured in this study, allows us to evaluate the health of the soil. It is important to measure these factors and to analyze their relation to DHA

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion