Hydrogeochemistry of arsenic pollution in watersheds influenced by gold mining activities in Paracatu (Minas Gerais State, Brazil)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research International
Edison BidoneMarcos Ferreira

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate total arsenic (As) concentrations in drinking water (main pathway of human exposure) and its hydrogeochemical controls in the "Morro do Ouro" gold mine region, which is the largest gold mine in Brazil, characterized by gold-arsenopyrite association. Arsenic concentration was generally below the detection limit (LOD < 0.5 μg L(-1)). Thus, water ingestion may not be a significant exposure pathway to local population. Low groundwater As concentrations (<1 μg L(-1)) are likely due to ore body structural setting, which plunges from 10° to >20°, being readily covered by thick phyllites that are poor in As some hundreds of meters away from the mine. Thirty-five percent of As levels in superficial waters (<0.5 to 40 μg L(-1)) were >10 μg L(-1), which is the maximum permissible value for human ingestion. The highest concentrations were found nearby mine facilities and old artisanal mining areas surrounding the mine, decreasing downstream. Undisturbed watersheds showed As concentrations close to LOD. Hydrogeochemical data stress the sorption (adsorption and co-precipitation) of As role, mainly by Fe oxyhydroxides, as a geochemical filter that retains As, attenuating its concentration in both superfici...Continue Reading

References

May 17, 2000·The Science of the Total Environment·J Matschullat
Aug 14, 2003·Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety·David Peakall, Joanna Burger
Mar 14, 2007·Environmental Geochemistry and Health·Bernardino Ribeiro de FigueiredoRômulo Simões Angélica
Sep 8, 2007·Environmental Science & Technology·Britta Planer-FriedrichDirk Wallschläger
Dec 12, 2007·Journal of Medical Toxicology : Official Journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology·Michael Schwartz, Susan E Gorman

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Citations

Jan 18, 2018·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Edison BidoneZuleica Castilhos
Feb 27, 2018·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Isabela C F VasquesWalter A P Abrahão

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