Heavy metal pollution associated with an abandoned lead-zinc mine in the Kirki region, NE Greece

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
Christos NikolaidisTheodore Constantinidis

Abstract

The "Agios Philippos" mine in the Kirki region (NE Greece) has been abandoned in 1998 after half a century of ore exploration without a reclamation or remediation plan. This article aims at elucidating the potential environmental risks associated with this site by quantifying pollution in tailing basins, stream waters, stream sediments and agricultural fields. Concentrations of heavy metals in the abandoned mine tailings reached 12,567 mg/kg for Pb, 22,292 mg/kg for Zn, 174 mg/kg for Cd and 241 mg/kg for As. The geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor for these metals were indicative of extremely high contamination (I(geo) > 5) and extremely high enrichment (EF > 40), respectively. Stream waters in the proximity of the mine had an acidic pH equal to 5.96 and a high sulfate content (SO(4)(-2) = 545.5 mg/L), whereas concentrations of Mn, Zn and Cd reached 2,399 microg/L, 7,681 microg/L and 11.2 microg/L. High I(geo) and EF values for Cd, Zn and As in stream sediments indicates that surface water pollution has a historic background, which is typically associated with acid mine drainage. Agricultural fields in the proximity of the mine exhibited high I(geo) and EF values, which were in decreasing order Cd > Pb > Zn > As. These ...Continue Reading

References

Jan 30, 2004·Environment International·Krzysztof LoskaIrena Korus

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Citations

Jun 26, 2013·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Dariusz CiszewskiElżbieta Wilk-Woźniak
Feb 20, 2013·International Journal of Environmental Health Research·Christos NikolaidisTheodore Constantinidis
Jun 15, 2013·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Xiao-ming WanRui-xiang Xu
Feb 6, 2016·Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·Mélida GutiérrezBenjamin E Lockwood
May 29, 2013·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Carmen Haydee MarinhoJosé Luis Esteves
May 2, 2014·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Alaaddin Vural
Aug 31, 2016·Environmental Pollution·Joanna KowalskaJaroslaw Waroszewski
Oct 16, 2016·International Journal of Phytoremediation·Hristina BodinMalin Hultberg
Nov 11, 2016·Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·Subodh Kumar Maiti, Vivek Rana
Apr 7, 2018·Environmental Geochemistry and Health·Joanna Beata KowalskaTomasz Zaleski
Jan 6, 2012·Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·J N Ihedioha, C O B Okoye
Mar 19, 2020·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Ram ProshadYi Wu

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