Environmental and socioeconomic assessment of impacts by mining activities—a case study in the Certej River catchment, Western Carpathians, Romania
Environmental and socioeconomic assessment of impacts by mining activities—a case study in the Certej River catchment, Western Carpathians, Romania
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采矿活动影响的环境和社会经济评估——以罗马尼亚西喀尔巴阡山脉塞尔特伊河流域为例
DOI：
10.1007/s11356-008-0068-2
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发表时间：
2009
影响因子：
5.8
通讯作者：
D. Bălteanu
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Zobrist;M. Sima;D. Dogaru;M. Șenilă;Hong Yang;C. Popescu;C. Roman;Abraham Bela;Linda Frei;B. Dold;D. Bălteanu
背景、目的和范围在罗马尼亚西喀尔巴阡山脉的一部分阿普塞尼山脉地区，金属采矿活动有着悠久的传统。这些采矿业在该地区创造了明显有益的经济发展。但它们的活动也对环境造成了损害，如酸性矿井水（AMD）对水体和沉积物造成了长期的重金属污染。这项研究是在ESTROM方案的范围内进行的，从环境和社会经济两方面调查了金属采矿活动的影响，并试图将这两种方法的结果纳入一项关于减轻与采矿有关问题的综合建议。小的Certej集水区位于阿普塞尼山脉南部，面积为78平方公里。大约有4500名居民生活在盆地，金属开采是该地区的主要经济部门。一个露天矿场和几个废弃的地下矿井正在产生含重金属的酸性水，这些水未经处理就排放到主要河流中。选矿厂的固体废弃物在多个排土场和尾矿库中沉积，其中含有酸性产水矿物黄铁矿。方法自然科学组采集地表水、挖井饮用水和地下水样品。通过电感耦合等离子体发射光谱（ICP-OES）分析富集后的过滤重金属和总重金属以及主要阳离子。离子色谱法测定了水中的主要阴离子，滴定法测定了水中的碱度和酸度。固体样本取自河流沉积物和最大的尾矿坝。后者用x射线荧光和x射线衍射进行了表征。消化后对沉积物中的重金属进行了分析。同时，社会经济小组进行了一项家庭调查，通过逻辑回归分析来评估人们对河流和饮用水污染的看法。结果与讨论酸性矿井水的输入大大增加了Certej河中过滤重金属的浓度，例如Zn高达130 mgL−1，Fe 100 mgL−1,Cu 2.9 mgL−1,Cd 1.4 mgL−1以及so4高达2.2 gL−1。此外，河水呈酸性，pH值为pH 3。由于来自支流的水的稀释，下游的污染物浓度略有下降。在水源站测得的金属浓度反映背景值。它们符合欧盟水框架指令中关于溶解重金属的环境质量标准。大型尾矿库流出水和两个尾矿库下游的地下水表现出AMD的先兆，但仍具有碱性。尽管这些井距离被污染的河流有7到25米的距离，但大多数挖井的饮用水没有显示出AMD污染的迹象。看来，切尔特吉河对地下水的渗透并不明显。黄铁矿是尾矿坝中产生酸性的主要硫化物矿物，方解石为中和酸性的矿物。酸碱计算证明，固相中潜在的酸中和能力不足以防止未来酸性水的产生。因此，目前露天矿和矿山废矿必须被视为AMD的来源。
Background, aim and scopeIn the region of the Apuseni Mountains, part of the Western Carpathians in Romania, metal mining activities have a long-standing tradition. These mining industries created a clearly beneficial economic development in the region. But their activities also caused impairments to the environment, such as acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting in long-lasting heavy metal pollution of waters and sediments. The study, established in the context of the ESTROM programme, investigated the impact of metal mining activities both from environmental and socioeconomic perspectives and tried to incorporate the results of the two approaches into an integrated proposition for mitigation of mining-related issues.Study siteThe small Certej catchment, situated in the Southern Apuseni Mountains, covers an area of 78 km2. About 4,500 inhabitants are living in the basin, in which metal mining was the main economic sector. An open pit and several abandoned underground mines are producing heavy metal-loaded acidic water that is discharged untreated into the main river. The solid wastes of mineral processing plants were deposited in several dumps and tailings impoundment embodying the acidic water-producing mineral pyrite.MethodsThe natural science team collected samples from surface waters, drinking water from dug wells and from groundwater. Filtered and total heavy metals, both after enrichment, and major cations were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Major anions in waters, measured by ion chromatography, alkalinity and acidity were determined by titration. Solid samples were taken from river sediments and from the largest tailings dam. The latter were characterised by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. Heavy metals in sediments were analysed after digestion. Simultaneously, the socioeconomic team performed a household survey to evaluate the perception of people related to the river and drinking water pollution by way of a logistic regression analysis.Results and discussionThe inputs of acid mine waters drastically increased filtered heavy metal concentrations in the Certej River, e.g. Zn up to 130 mg L−1, Fe 100 mg L−1, Cu 2.9 mg L−1, Cd 1.4 mgL−1as well as those of SO4up to 2.2 g L−1. In addition, river water became acidic with pH values of pH 3. Concentrations of pollutant decreased slightly downstream due to dilution by waters from tributaries. Metal concentrations measured at headwater stations reflect background values. They fell in the range of the environmental quality standards proposed in the EU Water Framework Directive for dissolved heavy metals. The outflow of the large tailing impoundment and the groundwater downstream from two tailings dams exhibited the first sign of AMD, but they still had alkalinity.Most dug wells analysed delivered a drinking water that exhibited no sign of AMD pollution, although these wells were a distance of 7 to 25 m from the contaminated river. It seems that the Certej River does not infiltrate significantly into the groundwater.Pyrite was identified as the main sulphide mineral in the tailings dam that produces acidity and with calcite representing the AMD-neutralising mineral. The acid–base accounting proved that the potential acid-neutralising capacity in the solid phases would not be sufficient to prevent the production of acidic water in the future. Therefore, the open pits and mine waste deposits have to be seen as the sources for AMD at the present time, with a …