Environmental hazard assessment of a marine mine tailings deposit site and potential implications for deep-sea mining

Environmental Pollution
Nélia C MestreM J Bebianno

Abstract

Portmán Bay is a heavily contaminated area resulting from decades of metal mine tailings disposal, and is considered a suitable shallow-water analogue to investigate the potential ecotoxicological impact of deep-sea mining. Resuspension plumes were artificially created by removing the top layer of the mine tailings deposit by bottom trawling. Mussels were deployed at three sites: i) off the mine tailings deposit area; ii) on the mine tailings deposit beyond the influence from the resuspension plumes; iii) under the influence of the artificially generated resuspension plumes. Surface sediment samples were collected at the same sites for metal analysis and ecotoxicity assessment. Metal concentrations and a battery of biomarkers (oxidative stress, metal exposure, biotransformation and oxidative damage) were measured in different mussel tissues. The environmental hazard posed by the resuspension plumes was investigated by a quantitative weight of evidence (WOE) model that integrated all the data. The resuspension of sediments loaded with metal mine tails demonstrated that chemical contaminants were released by trawling subsequently inducing ecotoxicological impact in mussels' health. Considering as sediment quality guidelines (SQGs...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 2, 2018·Environmental Science. Processes & Impacts·Wenbin MaDingena Schott
Jun 1, 2020·The Science of the Total Environment·Cristina GambiRoberto Danovaro
Apr 27, 2021·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·François BourrinUNKNOWN Portmán MIDAS cruise shipboard party
Aug 17, 2021·Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management·Amanda Reichelt-BrushettRay Wood

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