Identifying the cause of toxicity of a saline mine water.

Rick A Van Dam,Simon A Lunn,Marthe M Gagnon,Andrew J Harford,James P Meador

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106857

Abstract

Elevated major ions (or salinity) are recognised as being a key contributor to the toxicity of many mine waste waters but the complex interactions between the major ions and large inter-species variability in response to salinity, make it difficult to relate toxicity to causal factors. This study aimed to determine if the toxicity of a typical saline seepage water was solely due to its major ion constituents; and determine which major ions were the leading contributors to the toxicity. Standardised toxicity tests using two tropical freshwater species Chlorella sp. (alga) and Moinodaphnia macleayi (cladoceran) were used to compare the toxicity of 1) mine and synthetic seepage water; 2) key major ions (e.g. Na, Cl, SO4 and HCO3); 3) synthetic seepage water that were modified by excluding key major ions. For Chlorella sp., the toxicity of the seepage water was not solely due to its major ion concentrations because there were differences in effects caused by the mine seepage and synthetic seepage. However, for M. macleayi this hypothesis was supported because similar effects caused by mine seepage and synthetic seepage. Sulfate was identified as a major ion that could predict the toxicity of the synthetic waters, which might be expected as it was the dominant major ion in the seepage water. However, sulfate was not the primary cause of toxicity in the seepage water and electrical conductivity was a better predictor of effects. Ultimately, the results show that specific major ions do not clearly drive the toxicity of saline seepage waters and the effects are probably due to the electrical conductivity of the mine waste waters.

Highlights

In addition to low pH and elevated concentrations of trace metals and metalloids such as Al, As, Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn, elevated salinity, is recognised as being a key contributor to the toxicity of many mine waste waters [1,2]
The present study aimed to address the hypothesis that the effects were due to osmotic stress, with the following key aims: i. confirm the extent of toxicity of seepage water to Chlorella sp. and M. macleayi; ii. assess whether the toxicity of the seepage water is solely due to its major ion constituents; and iii. if toxicity was related to ion concentrations, determine which major ions are the leading contributor to the seepage toxicity
The differences in toxicity between synthetic seepage (SS) and mine seepage (MS) were only evident at the highest concentration (i.e. 100% seepage), with percent effects on algal growth exhibited at this concentration ranging from approximately 0–10% and 25–40%, respectively (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

In addition to low pH and elevated concentrations of trace metals and metalloids such as Al, As, Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn, elevated salinity ( referred to as Total Dissolved Solids [TDS] or Electrical Conductivity [EC]), is recognised as being a key contributor to the toxicity of many mine waste waters [1,2]. McCulloch et al [3] outlined methods to separate toxicities due to salinity or specific ions using Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) approaches with three main objectives: 1) characterise the chemical properties of the toxicant; 2) identify the specific toxicant or compounds causing toxicity and; 3) determine whether the identified compound is causing the observed toxicity in the effluent. Such approaches have been utilised with some success for mining and other industrial effluents [4,6,7]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion