Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan;20(1):159-168.
doi: 10.1002/ieam.4807. Epub 2023 Aug 2.

Historical contamination with a current problem: Can mining tailings enhance coastal arsenic pollution?

Gisele B do Nascimento  1 , Cybelle M Longhini  2 , Renata C Cagnin  1 , Eduardo S Costa  1 , Cesar A Silva  1 , Renato R Neto  1 , Fabian Sá  1
Affiliations

Historical contamination with a current problem: Can mining tailings enhance coastal arsenic pollution?

Gisele B do Nascimento et al. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

The coast of Espírito Santo state (Southeast Brazil) is recognized for its environmental arsenic (As) enrichment and, over the years, mining operations have potentialized it. We aimed to evaluate the effect of Rio Doce discharge on As inputs and the role of iron ore tailings from the Fundão dam disaster in enhancing As contamination in the marine sediment. Two scenarios were evaluated: Predisaster and Postdisaster; dry and wet conditions were considered in each period. High As concentrations were found in the Predisaster (28.44 ± 13.53 µg g-1 ), but a significant increase in As was remarkable during the Postdisaster in the wet season, one year after the disaster (maximum of 58.39 µg g-1 ; geoaccumulation index (Igeo ) Class 3, moderately severe pollution). On that occasion, iron (Fe) oxy-hydroxides from tailings were remobilized from the Rio Doce channel and deposited on the continental shelf bottom. Therefore, chemical interactions among Fe, As, and carbonates were enhanced, resulting in As and Fe coprecipitation and the trapping by carbonate adsorption. Rio Doce discharge seems to be the main factor in As inputs to the inner continental shelf when flooding do not occur previously in samplings, which allows further dispersion of contaminants, although this hypothesis should be tested further. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:159-168. © 2023 SETAC.

Keywords: Arsenic contamination; Fundão dam disaster; Geoaccumulation index; Iron ore tailings; Mining impacts.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (2007). Toxicological profile for arsenic. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
    1. Baeyens, W., Mirlean, N., Bundschuh, J., de Winter, N., Baisch, P., da Silva Júnior, F. M. R., & Gao, Y. (2019). Arsenic enrichment in sediments and beaches of Brazilian coastal waters: a review. Science of The Total Environment, 681, 143-154.
    1. Bhattacharya, P., Welch, A. H., Stollenwerk, K. G., McLaughlin, M. J., Bundschuh, J., & Panaullah, G. (2007). Arsenic in the environment: Biology and chemistry. Science of The Total Environment, 379, 109-120.
    1. Borba, R. P., Figueiredo, B. R., Rawlins, B., & Matschullat, J. (2003). Geochemical distribution of arsenic in waters, sediments and weathered gold mineralized rocks from Iron Quadrangle, Brazil. Environmental Geology, 44(1), 39-52.
    1. Brasil. Resolução n° 454, de 1 de novembro de. (2012). Estabelece diretrizes gerais os procedimentos referenciais para o gerenciamento do material a ser dragado em águas sob jurisdição nacional. Diário Oficial da União, 2012(n. 216), 66. Brasília, DF, 8 nov. Seção 1.