Assessment of atmospheric pollution by potentially toxic elements in the urban areas of the Riotinto mining district
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemAutor
Parviainen, Annika Jenni Johana; Rosca, Carolina; Rondón, Deyanira; Casares Porcel, Manuel; Martín Peinado, FranciscoEditorial
Elsevier
Materia
Xanthoria parietina Bioindicator Arsenic Lead Atmospheric pollution
Fecha
2024-07-21Referencia bibliográfica
Parviainen, A., Rosca, C., Rondon, D., Casares Porcel, M., Martín Peinado, F.J., 2024. Assessment of atmospheric pollution by potentially toxic elements in the urban areas of the Riotinto mining district Chemosphere 363, 142906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142906
Patrocinador
University of Granada (E-RNM- 422-UGR20); Regional Government of Andalusia (Spain) (EMC21_00056); University of Granada / CBUA; MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 PTA2019-016727-I, PTA2022-021985-I; FSE+Resumen
Ore mineralizations in bedrock and their exploitation may have a negative impact on air quality of surrounding
urban areas and, subsequently, on human health. This study uses lichens as bioindicators of atmospheric
pollution to evaluate the spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the towns close to the
massive sulfide deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) in SW Spain. Altogether 89 native lichen samples of
Xanthoria parietina were collected from the mining towns, control towns out of the reach of the mining activity, as
well as from distal sampling sites. The samples were analyzed for 29 elements after acid digestion. The concentrations
for Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, W, Tl, Pb, S, and Fe are significantly higher in the
mining towns in comparison to the control towns. The ore mineral-associated PTEs, including Cu, Zn, As, Ba, and
Pb, exhibit extreme concentrations in the urban areas close to the mining activity, and particularly in the small
settlement of La Dehesa next to the mineral processing plant and the tailings pond. The distal samples confirm the decrease in the concentrations of all PTEs, and these samples present similar values as in the control areas.
The results, point at increased bioaccumulation of PTEs in the lichen thalli of the adjacent urban areas, suggesting
that the air quality of the adjacent urban areas is locally impacted by the massive polymetallic sulfide
deposits which is enhanced by the mining activity. Therefore, monitoring the urban air quality is recommended.