Remobilization of legacy arsenic from sediment in a large subarctic waterbody impacted by gold mining

Abstract

Arsenic contamination from mining poses an environmental challenge due to the mobility of this redox-sensitive element. This study evaluated arsenic mobility in sediments of Yellowknife Bay (Canada), a large subarctic water body impacted by gold mining during the 20th century. Short-term measurements of arsenic flux from sediment, arsenic profiling of the water column and sediment porewater, and mass balance modelling were conducted to assess the importance of sediment as an arsenic source. Sediment arsenic fluxes were highly variable throughout Yellowknife Bay and ranged from − 65–1520 µg m−2 day−1. Elevated fluxes measured near the mine site were among the highest published for well-oxygenated lakes. Redox boundaries were typically 2–3 cm below the sediment surface as indicated by porewater profiles of iron, manganese, and arsenic, with arsenic maxima of 65–3220 µg L−1 predominately as arsenite. Sediment arsenic flux was positively related to its solid-phase concentration. Modelling indicated sediment was a principal source of arsenic to the water column. Adsorption and precipitation processes in the oxidizing environment of near-surface sediments did not effectively attenuate arsenic remobilized from contaminated sediments. Internal recycling of legacy arsenic between sediment and surface water will impede a return to background conditions in Yellowknife Bay for decades.