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A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings
Over the course of history, the development of human societies implied the exploitation of mineral resources which generated huge amounts of mining wastes leading to substantial environmental contamination by various metal(loid)s. This is especially the case of coal mine tailings which, subjected to...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8309815/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34357907 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9070164 |
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author | Gauthier-Manuel, Honorine Radola, Diane Choulet, Flavien Buatier, Martine Vauthier, Raphaël Morvan, Tatiana Chavanne, Walter Gimbert, Frédéric |
author_facet | Gauthier-Manuel, Honorine Radola, Diane Choulet, Flavien Buatier, Martine Vauthier, Raphaël Morvan, Tatiana Chavanne, Walter Gimbert, Frédéric |
author_sort | Gauthier-Manuel, Honorine |
collection | PubMed |
description | Over the course of history, the development of human societies implied the exploitation of mineral resources which generated huge amounts of mining wastes leading to substantial environmental contamination by various metal(loid)s. This is especially the case of coal mine tailings which, subjected to weathering reactions, produce acid mine drainage (AMD), a recurring ecological issue related to current and past mining activities. In this study, we aimed to determine the origin, the fate and the ecotoxicity of metal(loid)s leached from a historical coal tailing heap to the Beuveroux river (Franche-Comté, France) using a combination of mineralogical, chemical and biological approaches. In the constitutive materials of the tailings, we identified galena, tetrahedrite and bournonite as metal-rich minerals and their weathering has led to massive contamination of the water and suspended particles of the river bordering the heap. The ecotoxicity of the AMD has been assessed using Chironomus riparius larvae encaged in the field during a one-month biomonitoring campaign. The larvae showed lethal and sub-lethal (growth and emergence inhibition and delay) impairments at the AMD tributary and near downstream stations. Metal bioaccumulation and subcellular fractionation in the larvae tissues revealed a strong bioavailability of, notably, As, Pb and Tl explaining the observed biological responses. Thus, more than 70 years after the end of mining operations, the coal tailings remain a chronic source of contamination and environmental risks in AMD effluent receiving waters. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8309815 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-83098152021-07-25 A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings Gauthier-Manuel, Honorine Radola, Diane Choulet, Flavien Buatier, Martine Vauthier, Raphaël Morvan, Tatiana Chavanne, Walter Gimbert, Frédéric Toxics Article Over the course of history, the development of human societies implied the exploitation of mineral resources which generated huge amounts of mining wastes leading to substantial environmental contamination by various metal(loid)s. This is especially the case of coal mine tailings which, subjected to weathering reactions, produce acid mine drainage (AMD), a recurring ecological issue related to current and past mining activities. In this study, we aimed to determine the origin, the fate and the ecotoxicity of metal(loid)s leached from a historical coal tailing heap to the Beuveroux river (Franche-Comté, France) using a combination of mineralogical, chemical and biological approaches. In the constitutive materials of the tailings, we identified galena, tetrahedrite and bournonite as metal-rich minerals and their weathering has led to massive contamination of the water and suspended particles of the river bordering the heap. The ecotoxicity of the AMD has been assessed using Chironomus riparius larvae encaged in the field during a one-month biomonitoring campaign. The larvae showed lethal and sub-lethal (growth and emergence inhibition and delay) impairments at the AMD tributary and near downstream stations. Metal bioaccumulation and subcellular fractionation in the larvae tissues revealed a strong bioavailability of, notably, As, Pb and Tl explaining the observed biological responses. Thus, more than 70 years after the end of mining operations, the coal tailings remain a chronic source of contamination and environmental risks in AMD effluent receiving waters. MDPI 2021-07-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8309815/ /pubmed/34357907 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9070164 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Gauthier-Manuel, Honorine Radola, Diane Choulet, Flavien Buatier, Martine Vauthier, Raphaël Morvan, Tatiana Chavanne, Walter Gimbert, Frédéric A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title | A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title_full | A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title_fullStr | A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title_full_unstemmed | A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title_short | A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings |
title_sort | multidisciplinary approach for the assessment of origin, fate and ecotoxicity of metal(loid)s from legacy coal mine tailings |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8309815/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34357907 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9070164 |
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