Environmental risk caused by high salinity mine water discharges from active and closed mines located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland)

摘要

Mine waters, due to the wide spectrum of pollutants, represent a serious problem from an environmental point of view. Therefore, the main goal of the research was to assess the environmental risk posed by highly saline discharges of mine water. In this study the impact of mine water discharged from active and abandoned Polish coal mines located in Upper Silesian Coal Basin region (USCB) on Przemsza river ecosystems has been assessed. The impact of increasing river salinity on inhabiting them aquatic organisms was performed according to Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) methodology specified by European Commission in Technical Guidance Document on Risk Assessment (TGD 2003). Based on the ERA results for all section of analyzed Przemsza river basin a map of hazards resulting from exceeding the acceptable environmental salinity levels was performed. The studies confirm that discharge of mine water cause the increase in the concentration of pollutants in river waters which in turn may lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem of Przemsza river basin and its tributaries and caused irreversible environmental damage. The study results confirm also that the assessment of surface water quality based on both, ecotoxicological and physicochemical indicators is more favorable than the mandatory classification of pollution.