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| Titel |
Restoration of contaminated soils in abandoned mine areas (Tuscany, Italy) |
| VerfasserIn |
Claudio Bini, Mohammad Wahsha |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2016
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 18 (2016) |
| Datensatznummer |
250124685
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2016-4161.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| In Italy ore research and exploitation have been nearly exhausted since the end of the last
century, and have left on the land a huge amount of mine waste, therefore provoking evident
environmental damage including surface and groundwater, soils, vegetation and the food
chain, and a potential threat to human health.
The main processes occurring at these sites are: rock disgregation, fragments migration,
dust dispersion, oxidation (Eh>250mV), acidification (pH<7), hydrolisis and metal leaching,
precipitation of oxides and sulphates.
The restoration of these sites, therefore, is a primary objective, in order to reduce/eliminate
the risk associated to the contamination sources of past activities, and the consequent
environmental and human health hazard. The increasing environmental consciousness of
general population compelled Public Administrators to set down effective legislation
acts on this subject (e.g. D.L. 152/2006), and more generally on environmental
contamination.
In this work we present the results of a survey carried out at several mixed sulphides
mine sites in Tuscany, exploited for at least a millennium, and closed in the last
century.
Biogeochemical analyses carried out on representative soil profiles (Spolic
Technosols) and vegetation in the proximal and distal areas of ore exploitation show
heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn) overcoming legislation limits on
average. Ni, Cr and Mn concentrations, instead, are generally below the reference
levels.
The results obtained suggest that the abandoned mine sites represent actual natural
laboratories where to experiment new opportunities for restoration of anthropogenically
contaminated areas, and to study new pedogenetic trends from these peculiar parent
materials. Moreover, plants growing on these substrates are genetically adapted to
metal-enriched soils, and therefore may be utilized in phytoremediation of contaminated
sites. Furthermore, the institution of natural parks in these areas could enhance their
educational and scientific value, contributing in the meantime to general population
amusement and recreation.
Finally, it is the occasion for soil scientists to submit to the scientific community new
classification proposals of this new kind of soils.
Key-words: mine waste, heavy metals, phytoremediation, soil genesis, soil classification |
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