Abstract
Several industrial pollution sources at the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, were studied, one Pb-Zn mine with mi¬ll, one copper mine with mill and copper leaching facility, as well as one former Pb-Zn smelting facility near the city of Veles and one Fe-Ni smelting facility near the city of Kavadarci. The concentrations of heavy metals at Veles hot-spot were in the range: 20÷1823 mg kg-1Pb, 29÷2395 mg kg-1Zn, 28÷65 mgkg-1Cd, 27÷82 mg kg-1 Cu, 39÷164 mg kg-1Ni, 508÷938 mgkg-1Mn and 1.6÷3.8% Fe, all of them being above Dutch standard optimal values. The vicinity of the Feni plant displayed concentrations of heavy metals as follows: 16÷31 mg kg-1 Pb, 117÷286 mgkg-1 Zn, 13÷24 mg kg-1Co, 42÷119 mg kg-1 Cu, 158÷292 mg kg-1Ni, 119÷236 mg kg-1 Cr and 2.24÷3.79% Fe. Ai¬rborne dust measurements around the Zletovo mine di¬s¬played multiplexed above sta¬n¬d¬ard values, with an exception of nickel, there enrichment factors ranged from mediate ones such were those for copper of 20.8, cadmium of 28.7, arsenic of 32.5 up to high ones for zinc with 341.7 and lead 925. Soil samples around the Zletovo mine displayed: 19.3-76.9 g kg-1 Fe, 643-28000 mg kg-1 Mn, 42.3-529.66 mg kg-1 Pb and 138-3240 mg kg-1 Zn. Finally around the Bucim copper mine the results displayed the following fi¬¬ndings: 13.1÷225 mg kg-1 As, 0.67÷17.9 mg kg-1 Cd, 30.1÷171 mg kg-1 Cr, 17.8÷1734 mg kg-1 Cu, 9.8÷69.4 mg kg-1 Ni, 46÷3456 mg kg-1 Pb, 88÷3438 mg kg-1 Zn, 169÷998 mg kg-1 Mn, 0.73÷5.02% Fe.
Highlights
IntroductionPreventive measures are a must where mine and mine related plant are proessing and produce signficant environmental influx, so understanding the environmental impact of these processes is crucial
As major polluted localities, confirmed even with our latest results, are the areas around the former PbZn smelting plant located at the Veles city limits, active ferro-nickel plant located in the well known wine region of Kavadarci, active lead and zinc mines with their respective tailing dams in Eastern Macedonia (Zletovo) and active open pit of the Buchim copper mine with large waste dump and tailing dam (Figure 1).Preventive measures are a must where mine and mine related plant are proessing and produce signficant environmental influx, so understanding the environmental impact of these processes is crucial
Similar to the previous two heavy metals (Pb, Zn) we analyzed cadmium geochemistry (World average 0.35 mg kg-1 Cd [1], European average 0.12 mg kg-1 Cd [2], an average for the entire study area 7.7 mg kg1 Cd [3]), and we found that an average concentration of Cd was 120-times higher than the World average, 350-times higher than the European average and higher than Macedonian average for 5.45-times
Summary
Preventive measures are a must where mine and mine related plant are proessing and produce signficant environmental influx, so understanding the environmental impact of these processes is crucial. Metal mining has traditionally been an important part of the economy of the Republic of Macedonia and recently. Increased in importance due to governmental efforts to stimulate mining through renewed exploration and development, though the country relies on its agriculture and must safeguard its soil and water resources. Pollution from active and past mining related processing represents significant problem in some parts of the country
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