Impact of shallowly deposited ore-bearing dolomites on local soil pollution aureoles of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn in an old mining area

Purpose

The study area, located in Upper Silesian Industrial Region, was rich in significant amounts of ores that were classified of Mississippi Valley type. Being these ores especially rich in Pb and Zn, an intense development of mining and ore extraction industry was verified in this area. The goal of this study was to investigate how local pollution aureoles of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn were influenced by the presence of shallowly deposited ore-bearing dolomites.

Materials and methods

Very extensive sampling campaign was carried out, and over 1,000 samples were collected in the area of about 150?km². Local aureoles of investigated metals were calculated for two soil layers. The first one covered the part of soil core from the soil surface to the depth of 20?cm and the second one from the depth of 40?cm to the depth of 60?cm. All spatial distributions of particular metals in soil were calculated by means of ordinary kriging using free softwares QGIS and SAGA.

Results and discussion

Maximum concentrations of Pb and Zn in soil in study area were very high, reaching over 24,000 and 77,000?mg/kg, respectively. Maximum concentrations of As and Cd were also very high, reaching about 1,000?mg/kg. Those maximum values were observed in the direct vicinity of the Boles?aw mine and its mine dumps. Almost all local aureoles were located within the range of ore-bearing dolomites. It was especially visible for Pb and Zn, minerals very common in ore deposits. Otherwise, local aureoles of As and Cd were more related with the vicinity of mines and other pollution sources, being more associated to the anthropogenic pollution than to the presence of ore-bearing dolomites.

Conclusions

The aureoles of Pb and Zn, and in moderate degree of As, were associated with a mineral composition of ores. Differently, the location, the shape, and spatial pattern of Cd aureoles suggest that they were mostly influenced by anthropogenic pollution. Anthropogenic factors were dominating over the lithogenic ones and masking the influence of the shallowly deposited ores.     

Evaluation of growth response of phytopathogens Alternaria alternata,Diaporthe nobilis and Phytophthora plurivora to inhibitory potential of three essential oils of Monarda didyma genotypes

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The growth response of three phytopathogens to inhibitory activity of essential oils (EOs), derived from three monarda (Monarda didyma L.) genotypes, was...     

Essential and toxic elements in seafood available in poland from different geographical regions

The concentrations of 15 elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, Cr, Se, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ca, Na, K, and Mg) were determined in the edible parts of shellfish on sale in the local market in Gdańsk. The samples consisted of three groups--crustaceans, molluscs, and surimi--that are processed to different degrees. For the purposes of this analysis, they were dried, homogenized, and digested in an automatic microwave system. The samples were analyzed quantitatively for Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cr, Mg, Na, K, and Ca (F-AAS), Cd and Pb (GF-AAS), Se (HG-AAS), and Hg (CV-AAS). The elemental levels detected in shellfish were compared to those in cod, herring, pork, beef, chicken, and eggs. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of essential elements and the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of toxic elements were estimated. With factor analysis of the data, taxonomically different groups of raw and processed shellfish could be distinguished.     

Theory untangles the high-resolution infrared spectrum of the ortho-H2-CO van der Waals complex

Rovibrational spectroscopy of molecules boasts extremely high precision, but its usefulness relies on the assignment of spectral features to corresponding quantum mechanical transitions. In the case of ortho-H(2)-CO, a weakly bound complex abundant in the interstellar medium (although not yet observed there), the rather complex spectrum has been unexplained for more than a decade. We assigned this spectrum by comparison with a purely ab initio calculation. For most lines, agreement to within 0.01 centimeter(-1) between experiment and theory was achieved. Our results show that the applicability of rovibrational spectroscopy can be extended with the assistance of high-accuracy quantum mechanical computations.     

Effect of metal ions under laboratory conditions on the entomopathogenic Steinernema carpocapsae (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae)

The effects of sixteen metal ions: Al, Cd, Co(II), Cr(III), Cr(VI), Cu(II), Fe(III), Li, Mg, Mn(H), Mo(VI), Ni(II), Pb(II), Se(IV), V(V), and Zn on the mortality and infectivity of Steinernema carpocapsae were observed in 96 hour laboratory tests. All ions except Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn even at naturally unrealistic concentrations did not cause the mortality of S. carpocapsae. However, such treatment lowered infectivity of nematodes with respect to wax moth caterpillars, Galleria mellonella.     

Response of oat-triticale mixture to post-emergence weed harrowing

ABSTRACT

In experiments with weed harrowing crops are negatively affected by competing weeds but also by the destructive effect of used implement. This research was carried out to find growth stages during which mixture of oat (Avena sativa L.) and triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm.) was resistant to harrowing and was able to effectively recover from this physical disturbance. Plots were harrowed 1–3 times on the same day at six consecutive stages of mixture growth with spring-tine harrow. After the latest harrowing, all plots were sprayed with herbicide to exclude competitive effect of weeds on the mixture. Compared to non-harrowed plots plant density of mixture was significantly reduced after a single cultivation at 1- and 2-leaf stage (20% and 23% respectively), two cultivations at 3-leaf stage (22%) and three at the beginning of the tillering (21%). No yield penalty was noticed for the density reductions, thus showing high ability of mixture to recover from physical disturbance. We recommend plant emergence as an appropriate growth stage for single harrowing of oat-triticale mixture. Two cultivations on the same day should not be planned earlier than at the beginning of tillering.     

Metal-metal interactions in biological systems. Part IV. Freshwater snail Bulinus globosus

The toxicity against title snails of all Al, Cd, Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe (III), Mg, Mn(II), Mo(VI), Ni(II), Pb(II), Se(VI), V(V) and Zn ions was checked in 96 h tests in the water of Kariba Lake. Based on the mortality — concentration relationship the toxicity order of the above ions against Bulinus globosus is Cu(II) > Ni(II) > Cd > Pb(II) > Zn > Al > V(V)> Cr(III)> Se(VI) > Fe(III) =Co(II)> Mn(II) > Mg > Mo(VI). Only Mg, Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd, Zn and Ni(II) ions are harmful to these snails as their mortality is observed at the naturally occuring concentrations. Other metal ions cause lethality at naturally unrealistic concentrations. The following pairs of metal ions were also checked for mutual interactions: Cd-Al, Cd-Co, Cd-Cr, Cd-Cu, Cd-Fe, Cd-Mg, Cd-Mn, Cd-Mo, Cd-Ni, Cd-Pb, Cd-Se, Cd-V, Cd-Zn, Cu-Al, Cu-Co, Cu-Cr, Cu-Fe, Cu-Mg, Cu-Mn, Cu-Mo, Cu-Ni, Cu-Pb, Cu-Se, Cu-V, Cu-Zn, Ni-Al, Ni-Co, Ni-Cr, Ni-Fe, Ni-Mg, Ni-Mn, Ni-Mo, Ni-Pb, Ni-Se, Ni-V, Ni-Zn, Pb-Al, Pb-Co, Pb-Cr, Pb-Fe, Pb-Mg, Pb-Mn, Pb-Mo, Pb-Se, Pb-V, Pb-Zn, Zn-Al, Zn-Co, Zn-Cr, Zn-Fe, Zn-Mg, Zn-Mn, Zn-Mo, Zn-Se, Zn-V. Synergism and antagonism were several times observed in various combinations of ions. The effect of metal-metal interactions on an accumulation of those metals in the flesh and shells of snails was also observed and measured.     

The effects of water and hydrosol chemistry on the accumulation of beryllium and germanium in selected species of macrohydrophytes

The accumulation of Be and Ge by selected macrohydrophytes in environments polluted by industrial dust and waste products was shown to be higher than the average concentrations in unpolluted water. The Ge content of macrohydrophytes in polluted environments ranges from 7.1 to 220.4 μg g^?1 and the Be content from 0.7 to 136.6 μg g^?1. We have at the same time shown the relationships between Be and Ge in water and plants. The accumulation of Be and Ge in plants is conditioned by the amount of N and K in water, hydrosol and in the plants themselves. Our experiments show growth disturbances in macrohydrophytes containing high concentration of Be and Ge.