Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)

Heavy mineral particles are widely used in Earth science studies to show sediment provenance and weathering conditions. Such particles are particularly useful in polluted soils surrounding mining and smelting facilities because heavy minerals are common by-products of these activities and may accumu...

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Main Authors: Tyszka Rafał, Pietranik Anna, Marciniak-Maliszewska Beata, Kierczak Jakub
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2024-02-01
Series:Mineralogia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/mipo-2024-0001
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author Tyszka Rafał
Pietranik Anna
Marciniak-Maliszewska Beata
Kierczak Jakub
author_facet Tyszka Rafał
Pietranik Anna
Marciniak-Maliszewska Beata
Kierczak Jakub
author_sort Tyszka Rafał
collection DOAJ
description Heavy mineral particles are widely used in Earth science studies to show sediment provenance and weathering conditions. Such particles are particularly useful in polluted soils surrounding mining and smelting facilities because heavy minerals are common by-products of these activities and may accumulate in the soils. As such, the particles are suitable indicators of metallic element carriers and their stability in the soil environment. In this study, we analyze heavy mineral particles in two soils surrounding the active copper smelter (Legnica, SW, Poland). We show that particles associated with different smelting activities dominate the heavy mineral fraction. We note the general absence of sulfides in the fraction indicating that these minerals might have been entirely dissolved, but timing of this dissolution is uncertain (before or after deposition within soils). Currently, the carriers of potentially toxic elements are mainly secondary Fe oxides. Studies aiming at better estimation of the proportion of metallic elements contained in heavy mineral particles are needed to fully use the potential of these phases in polluted soil studies. We estimate that Pb contained in Pb-rich silicate glass constitutes <0.5% of the total Pb budget and Pb contained in secondary Fe oxides is over 1% of the total budget, but these are minimal estimates.
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spelling doaj-art-764b664fcf1b46f08b085dfda9d9ad8e2024-12-16T08:58:48ZengSciendoMineralogia1899-85262024-02-0155111410.2478/mipo-2024-0001Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)Tyszka Rafał0Pietranik Anna1Marciniak-Maliszewska Beata2Kierczak Jakub31Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwida 25, 50-375Wrocław, Poland2University of Wrocław, Institute of Geological Sciences, pl. Maxa Borna 9, 50-204Wrocław, Poland3Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Microanalysis and X-ray Diffraction, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089Warszawa, Poland2University of Wrocław, Institute of Geological Sciences, pl. Maxa Borna 9, 50-204Wrocław, PolandHeavy mineral particles are widely used in Earth science studies to show sediment provenance and weathering conditions. Such particles are particularly useful in polluted soils surrounding mining and smelting facilities because heavy minerals are common by-products of these activities and may accumulate in the soils. As such, the particles are suitable indicators of metallic element carriers and their stability in the soil environment. In this study, we analyze heavy mineral particles in two soils surrounding the active copper smelter (Legnica, SW, Poland). We show that particles associated with different smelting activities dominate the heavy mineral fraction. We note the general absence of sulfides in the fraction indicating that these minerals might have been entirely dissolved, but timing of this dissolution is uncertain (before or after deposition within soils). Currently, the carriers of potentially toxic elements are mainly secondary Fe oxides. Studies aiming at better estimation of the proportion of metallic elements contained in heavy mineral particles are needed to fully use the potential of these phases in polluted soil studies. We estimate that Pb contained in Pb-rich silicate glass constitutes <0.5% of the total Pb budget and Pb contained in secondary Fe oxides is over 1% of the total budget, but these are minimal estimates.https://doi.org/10.2478/mipo-2024-0001polluted soilheavy particlesmetallic elementsfe oxideslag
spellingShingle Tyszka Rafał
Pietranik Anna
Marciniak-Maliszewska Beata
Kierczak Jakub
Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
Mineralogia
polluted soil
heavy particles
metallic elements
fe oxide
slag
title Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
title_full Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
title_fullStr Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
title_full_unstemmed Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
title_short Pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by Cu-smelting (Legnica, SW Poland)
title_sort pollution sources and metallic elements mobility recorded by heavy minerals in soils affected by cu smelting legnica sw poland
topic polluted soil
heavy particles
metallic elements
fe oxide
slag
url https://doi.org/10.2478/mipo-2024-0001
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