Abstract
In order to evaluate the heavy metals contamination of groundwater in Barapukuria Coal Mine (BCM) area and its vicinity, nine groundwater samples from different location, two waste water either treated and/or untreated that were used to irrigate in and around the coal mine areas, three surficial soil samples (~20cm depth) and a coal dust sample were collected during March, 2015. The samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). Each sample was analyzed for As, Mn, Fetotal, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mo, Ni, Co, Cr, Cd and Hg. It was found that As, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mo, Co, Cr, Cd and Hg did not exhibit significant elevated levels, but concentration of Mn, Fetotal and Ni ranging from 0.15 to 3.85mg/L, 0 to 1.88mg/L and 0.01 to 0.09mg/L respectively both in groundwater and mine waste water samples exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO, 2004) drinking water guideline values of 0.4mg/L of Mn, 0.3 mg/L of Fe and of 0.02mg/L of Ni. Similarly the mean heavy metal concentrations in soils were below the Bangladesh standards for all heavy metals but the maximum values of Co (137.25 to 245.24mg/kg), Cr (139.02 to 243.38mg/kg) and Hg (0 to 24.28mg/kg) also exceeded the maximum acceptable limit of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, 1992) (Co of 50mg/kg, Cr of 100mg/kg) and Environment Agency (EA, 2009) (Hg of 1mg/kg) guideline standard. However, the coal dust was not above the guideline recommended limit for any elements. Therefore, this study reveals that the use of treated and/or untreated coal mine waste water for irrigation has increased the risk of heavy metals contamination in groundwater and causing potential health hazards in the long time term.
Highlights
Water is very important natural resource, widely used throughout the world for domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural purposes and entering into the environment in various sources [1, 3]
In this study, (i) nine groundwater samples in different depth (70~220ft.) were chosen randomly in and around the American Journal of Environmental Protection 2017; 6(4): 80-86 coal mine areas, (ii) two coal mine waste water samples either treated and/or untreated among them one was drained by the coal mine and the other one was irrigated and/or drained by Barapukuria Coal Power Plant (BCPP), (iii) three surficial soils near the drainage outlet of Barapukuria Coal Mine (BCM) and BCPP in the paddy field and (iv) a coal dust sample sieved from drainage water of BCM were collected during March, 2015
The concentration level of heavy metals obtained by analysis in water, coal dust and soil samples are mentioned in Table 2 and Table 3
Summary
Water is very important natural resource, widely used throughout the world for domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural purposes and entering into the environment in various sources [1, 3]. The problem of water quality is more severe in the areas where mining and mineral processes’ industries are present. It is of great importance to evaluate the ground water in every developing country like Bangladesh where 95% of the portable water supply comes from groundwater both in rural and urban areas and 70% of irrigation water comes from groundwater sources [3, 24]. Md. Hafijur Rahaman Khan et al.: Heavy Metals Contamination Assessment of Water and Soils in and Around
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