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Heavy metal pollution characteristics and systemic risk assessment of the environment around the tailings site

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The soil, sediment, and water surrounding abandoned tailings can be regarded as both sinks and sources of pollution. Taking the surrounding environment of abandoned tailings viewed as a whole and conducting a comprehensive environmental pollution assessment are the basis of tailings pollution control and accurate management. We aimed to synthesize single-element pollution indicators and multi-element pollution indicators, propose a comprehensive pollution status evaluation method for abandoned tailings and their surrounding environment, and provide effective tools for tailings classification management on a regional scale.

Methods

First, the single-element contamination index and multi-element contamination index were selected to evaluate the contamination risk of agricultural soil, surface water, groundwater, and sediment. The comprehensive pollution risk score (CRS) of each element in the environment was calculated. Then, the overall score of pollution status (P) of the tailings site and its surrounding environment was obtained based on the weighting coefficients of the risks for different environmental receptors. Finally, the potential sources and migration paths of pollutants were determined by combining PMF and GIS mapping.

Results

The mean contents of heavy metals in the soils and sediments were higher than the average values in China and background values except for Cr. The mean concentration of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and As in surface water, and the mean concentration of Cd, Cu, and Zn in grounder water exceeded the value specified in their corresponding standards. The comprehensive pollution risk score of each element in the environment surrounding the tailings from the largest to the smallest are CRSCd (27) > CRSCu (22) > CRSAs (18) > CRSZn (16) > CRSPb (14) > CRSCr (9). It was shown that Cd and Cu were the elements with the highest risk of environmental pollution within the entire environmental system. The overall score of pollution status of the environment around the tailings in this study was calculated to be 5.37 points, which belongs to the III level. The superposition of natural sources and mining activities is the most important factor in soil and sediment contamination.

Conclusion

The pollution situation in the area is serious and the environmental quality is worrying, which threatens the safety of agricultural products and human health, and the comprehensive evaluation method can effectively assess the current situation of environmental pollution around the tailings.

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Funding

This research was financially supported by Joint Research Project for the Yangtze River Conservation (Phase I), China (grant number: 2019-LHYJ-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yujie He

  2. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Yujie He & Haisheng Li

  3. Technical Centre for Soil, Agricultural and Rural Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing, 100012, China

    Yujie He, Qian Zhang, Wenjie Wang & Jie Hua

  4. Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Qian Zhang

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  1. Yujie He
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  2. Qian Zhang
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Correspondence to Qian Zhang or Haisheng Li.

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He, Y., Zhang, Q., Li, H. et al. Heavy metal pollution characteristics and systemic risk assessment of the environment around the tailings site. J Soils Sediments 24, 217–229 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03588-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03588-7

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