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Assessment of Soil Pollution by Rare Earth Elements in the Area Affected by the Rare Metal Plant in Russia

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Abstract

Podzol soils (Podzol) sampled in the area affected by the rare metal plant in the Murmansk oblast were analyzed using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine the bulk content of 14 rare earth elements (REEs) and the contents of their water-soluble, exchangeable, and mobile species. The mean bulk content of ΣREE in the soil sampled near tailings amounts to 594.9 mg/kg (218.2–1177.6 mg/kg), which is considerably higher as compared with the conventionally background soil (90.4 mg/kg, 79.45–101.35 mg/kg). The contents of individual REEs in the examined soils follow those in the mill tailings of loparite ores, thereby confirming the impact of mining activities on the content and distribution of REEs. The calculated REE enrichment factors (EFs) for soils vary from insignificant (EFΣREE = 2.4) to high (EFΣREE = 13.0). High EF values coincide with wind directions, suggesting an airborne technogenic nature of soil pollution caused by the dusting of tailings.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank A.A. Timokhin for his assistance in sampling and N.L. Alfert’ev for construction of schemes.

Funding

The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 22-27-00159 “Ecological and Geochemical Assessment of the Pollution of Environmental Components in the Area Affected by Mill Tailings of Rare Metal Ores”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanomaterials Science, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 184209, Apatity, Russia

    E. A. Krasavtseva & V. V. Maksimova

  2. Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 184209, Apatity, Russia

    E. A. Krasavtseva, V. V. Maksimova, E. I. Elizarova & M. B. Malysheva

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  1. E. A. Krasavtseva
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  2. V. V. Maksimova
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  3. E. I. Elizarova
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Correspondence to E. A. Krasavtseva.

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Translated by G. Chirikova

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Supplementary Information

This study was presented at the International Scientific Conference XXVI Dokuchaev Youth Readings Soil Science Matrix (http://www.dokuchaevskie.ru/).

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Krasavtseva, E.A., Maksimova, V.V., Elizarova, E.I. et al. Assessment of Soil Pollution by Rare Earth Elements in the Area Affected by the Rare Metal Plant in Russia. Eurasian Soil Sc. 56 (Suppl 2), S194–S201 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229323601403

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