Abstract
We reconstructed the contamination history of an area influenced by 40 years of uranium mining and subsequent remediation actions using dendroanalysis (i.e., the determination of the elemental content of tree rings). The uranium content in the tree rings of four individual oak trees (Quercus sp.) was determined by laser ablation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This technique allows the investigation of trace metals in solid samples with a spatial resolution of 250 μm and a detection limit below 0.01 μg/g for uranium. The investigations show that in three of the four oaks sampled, there were temporally similar uranium concentrations. These were approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher (0.15 to 0.4 μg/g) than those from before the period of active mining (concentrations below 0.01 μg/g). After the mining was terminated and the area was restored, the uranium contents in the wood decreased by approximately 1 order of magnitude. The similar radial uranium distribution patterns of the three trees were confirmed by correlation analysis. In combination with the results of soil analyses, it was determined that there was a heterogeneous contamination in the forest investigated. This could be confirmed by pre-remediation soil uranium contents from literature. The uranium contents in the tree rings of the oaks investigated reflect the contamination history of the study area. This study demonstrates that the dendrochemical analysis of oak tree rings is a suitable technique for investigating past and recent uranium contamination in mining areas.
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Georg Büchel and his working group for general support, Anika Kötschau for valuable advice on data analysis and assistance with the LA-ICP-MS system, the Wismut GmbH for data supply, and Gottfried Nosowsky (district forestry officer of the “Reuster Forst”) for supporting the work in the study area.
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This study was funded by financial resources of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Institute of Geosciences) and without third-party funds.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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For this study, no research on humans or animals was performed.
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Märten, A., Berger, D., Köhler, M. et al. The dendroanalysis of oak trees as a method of biomonitoring past and recent contamination in an area influenced by uranium mining. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 19417–19425 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4902-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4902-z