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Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

DOI

10.3906/yer-1205-1

Abstract

The activities of the Sasa mine have led to industrial discharge being released into Lake Kalimanci since the beginning of mining activity in 1954. For this reason, an ecological risk assessment is urgently required. In the present study, surficial lake sediments were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), with all geochemistry data processed using Statistica 8. In order to assess the environmental pollution status, 2 environmental factors were established, while for the determination of chemical fractionation of toxic metals a sequential extraction procedure was carried out. Concentrations of As, Mo, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb, Cd, and Cu in surficial Lake Kalimanci sediments were in the ranges of 58.6-77.2, 2.30-4.60, 7056-20,900, 47.4-79.3, 18.8-25.3, 4863-16,300, 46.8-136, and 328-1162 mg/kg, respectively. Based on values of the enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index, the surficial sediment of Lake Kalimanci is strongly polluted in terms of most of the examined metals. The results of the sequential extraction procedure revealed the majority of the investigated toxic metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Cd) to be strongly bonded to the exchangeable fraction and the rest (As and Mo) to the oxidizable fraction. The geochemistry, environmental factor values, and toxic metal extraction characteristics of Lake Kalimanci sediments represent a serious environmental risk for an extensive area.

Keywords

Pollution, tailings dam failure, toxic metal contamination, sequential extraction procedure, surficial lake sediments, Lake Kalimanci, Republic of Macedonia

First Page

996

Last Page

1009

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