The extraction and processing of minerals produce significant environmental impacts that last long after mining operations have ended. Abandoned mines provide obvious sources of contamination by metals and arsenic in surrounding areas. These areas typically support sparse vegetation, so weather events, typical of Mediterranean environments such as heavy rains, can drag metals and metalloids, in a more or less available form for vegetation, as in solution and suspension to accumulate in lower lands. In this study, the area affected by a copper mine, abandoned early last century in the Sierra de Madrid, was sampled. Soil properties such as pH, EC, total OM and texture were analyzed. Furthermore, the BCR (Bureau Community of Reference) fractionation of metals was carried out in order to evaluate the weathering of the starting materials and the selective movement of different fractions along the slope . Metals and arsenic were detected beyond the mine limits, in areas where water flows in a preferential way. Results showed high concentrations and readily extractable Cu and As, which may suggest potential bioavailability for organisms and may create an environmental risk and potential human exposure what results in a health risk for the population.
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机译:矿物的提取和加工会对环境产生重大影响,这种影响会在采矿作业结束后持续很长时间。废弃的地雷为周围地区的金属和砷提供了明显的污染源。这些区域通常支持稀疏的植被,因此,天气事件(典型的地中海环境,例如大雨)会以或多或少可用的形式拖拉金属和准金属,从而导致溶液和悬浮液积聚在较低的土地上。在这项研究中,抽样调查了上世纪初在马德里塞拉(Sierra de Madrid)废弃的一座铜矿受影响的地区。分析土壤性质,例如pH,EC,总OM和质地。此外,为了评估原材料的风化和不同馏分沿坡度的选择性运动,对金属进行了BCR(Bureau Community of Reference)分馏。在水以优先方式流动的地区,金属和砷的含量超出了矿山的限制。结果表明,高浓度的铜和砷易于提取,这可能表明生物体具有潜在的生物利用度,并可能造成环境风险和潜在的人体暴露,从而给人群带来健康风险。
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