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Spatial distribution and environmental implications of heavy metals in typical lead (Pb)-zinc (Zn) mine tailings impoundments in Guangdong Province, South China

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Abstract

Heavy metal pollution from mining tailings has become a serious concern in China. Here, we quantitatively evaluated the accumulation status and environmental risk of the tailings impoundments located in a typical Pb-Zn mining area in Guangdong Province, South China. The distributional characteristics of the heavy metals in the tailings impoundment area were analyzed. The results showed that the spatial distributions of the heavy metals contained in the tailings were dependent on the geochemical characteristics of the mine tailings rather than on their diversified profile depths. Furthermore, the risk assessment of the heavy metal pollution in the soils surrounding the tailings impoundment showed that the comprehensive Nemerow pollution index (NPI) of the tested surface soil samples was higher than 3.0; thus, these values were much greater than those of the deep soil. Meanwhile, multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the heavy metals contained in the surrounding soils, such as Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As, and Tl, experienced similar geochemical processes. The analysis of drainage water samples indicated that surface runoff from the tailings impoundment was the main route for the migration of heavy metals. Moreover, the alkaline substances would be consumed by the acid that is continuously generated in the tailings pond, and this increases the risk of heavy metals migrating from the tailings impoundment area. Lastly, resource analysis and process mineralogy analysis showed that the tailings had a high recovery value, and the recovery of tailings would completely eliminate the environmental risks posed by the tailings.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Fund (No. 41503116), the Guangdong Te Zhi Program Youth Science and Technology Talent Project (No. 2014TQ01Z262), Guangzhou Science and Technology Program (No. 201607020003), Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program (Nos. 2014B090901040, 2015B020237003), and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (No. 2017A03031D05).

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Correspondence to Bo Yan.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

The main finding of the work

1. The comprehensive Nemerow pollution index (NPI) of the surface soil were higher than 3.0, and the heavily contaminated areas were adjacent to the northeastern border of the tailings impoundment.

2. The migration of heavy metals (HMs) from the tailings impoundment has nothing to do with the wind, but has a close relationship with the surface drainage and the fraction of heavy metals.

Electronic supplementary material

Pearson correlation matrix and component matrix for the metal concentrations in the surrounding soils, the mineral composition of the mixed tailing sample and the SEM-BSE images of the mixed tailings sample are shown in Supplementary material.

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Chen, T., Lei, C., Yan, B. et al. Spatial distribution and environmental implications of heavy metals in typical lead (Pb)-zinc (Zn) mine tailings impoundments in Guangdong Province, South China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 36702–36711 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3493-x

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