Abstract
This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of Pb contaminant dispersal from an abandoned mine. For the study, 23 samples of sediment and soil were collected around the abandoned mine located in southwest of Korea. Pb concentrations and isotope ratios of sediment samples were analyzed through ICP-OES (Optima 5300 DV, Perkin Elmer) and MC-ICP-MS (Plasma II, Nu), respectively. The sediment samples collected in the main stream from the mine entrance showed high Pb concentrations of 139 - 1079 mg/kg, while Pb concentrations of the other sites were 19 - 29 mg/kg. Pb isotope ratios of the main stream sediments were 2.4854 - 2.4883 for 208Pb/207Pb and 1.1693 - 1.1740 for 206Pb/207Pb. On the other hand, the Pb isotopic compositions of sediments collected from the other sites were clearly different from those of ore deposits. The Pb isotope ratios versus inverse concentrations plot showed high linear correlation between the main stream, the tributary stream and one of the downstream sites representing the two end member mixing system between these sites. According to the binary mixing equation, the relative contribution of Pb pollutants from the abandoned mine to the downstream area were approximately 33% - 36%.
Highlights
Pb contamination in mine areas followed by ore digging and smelting has been reported through various environmental samples such as mine waste water, soils and plants [1,2,3,4,5,6]
For the comparison of Pb isotope ratios between Pb contaminant from the abandoned mine and natural Pb, we collected twelve sediment samples at the main stream from the mine entrance (M1 ~ M12), two samples at the tributary stream coming from other direction (T1, T2) and two samples at the downstream area which goes down past the confluence (D1, D2)
The Pb concentration data clearly showed the enrichment of Pb in the main stream sediments compared with the other sites (Figure 2)
Summary
Pb contamination in mine areas followed by ore digging and smelting has been reported through various environmental samples such as mine waste water, soils and plants [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Surface sediments of streams near the abandoned mine in Scotland were reported to have a Pb concentration level similar to that of mine wastes [1]. All these indicate that the release of Pb pollutants from mines continues to have impact on the environment even after finishing the mine operation. The surface soils in the Swiss National Park are influenced from natural Pb, Pb ores in mines and air pollutants, and that the relative contributions of these three sources are 43%, 21% and 36%, respectively [8]
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