Heavy metals and Zn isotope ratios in the snow of the Karabash copper smelting area (Southern Urals, Russia)

Valery Udachin,Ivan Blinov,Maria Zaitseva,Maria Streletskaya,Nikolay Udachin,Pavel Aminov,Daria Kiseleva,O Chudaev,O Shouakar-Stash,R Millot,Y Kharaka,R Harmon

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/20199812023

Abstract

This work presents the first results of winter fieldworks aimed at the assessment of heavy metal content and Zn isotope composition in the snow cover of a smelting area in South Ural. Twenty one snowpacks were sampled at the end of the winter 2018 in the vicinity (1.0-95 km) of the copper smelter of the Karabash town (South Ural, Russia). The snow samples were analyzed for major and trace element composition using ICP-MS and ICP-OES techniques. Zn isotope analysis was performed by MC-ICP-MS with preliminary chromatographic purification. pH and water hardness values were obtained as well. Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Sr enrichment factors were calculated. The contaminant particles in snow were established to have been derived from the technogenic source through the distances up to 95 km from the industrial smelting area.

Highlights

The number of studies on the chemical characteristics of the snow aimed at assessing the contribution of natural and anthropogenic pollution sources, that has rapidly increased [1,2,3]
Having the ability to accumulate the contaminants absorbed on the crystal surfaces during their crystallisation, snow cover comprises an indicator of air pollution [4, 5]
The chemical composition of the snow cover can reflect the changes in the atmospheric emissions both of natural and anthropogenic origin

Summary

Introduction

The number of studies on the chemical characteristics of the snow aimed at assessing the contribution of natural and anthropogenic pollution sources, that has rapidly increased [1,2,3]. Large volumes of smelting activity result in significant spatial and temporal variability in heavy metal concentrations in the lower atmosphere [6]. In this regard, Zn isotopes may be used to fingerprint the sources and dispersion pathways of pollutants in the environment. The information about δ66Zn values in liquid and solid forms of atmospheric deposition is insufficient [7, 8]. In the case of Urals, the snow has never been analyzed for Zn isotope composition, though its potential for isotope fingerprinting in environmental health studies appears to be obvious

Methods

Results

Conclusion