Assessment of trace metals contamination in sediment and surface water of quarry lakes from the abandoned Pb mine Zaida,
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Assessment of trace metals contamination in sediment and surface water of quarry lakes from the abandoned Pb mine Zaida, High Moulouya‑Morocco Siham Bouzekri1 · Hamza El Fadili1 · Moulay Laarabi El Hachimi2 · Mohammed El Mahi1 · El Mostapha Lotfi1 Received: 22 December 2018 / Accepted: 12 November 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Physicochemical properties and total content of potentially toxic metals (Pb, Zn, As, Cd and Cu) in sediment and surface water samples from the pit lakes of the abandoned Pb mine were determined to assess the contamination level, and to evaluate the impact of the past mining activities on their quality. The results of the metallic trace elements in water samples gave high concentrations especially for Pb, Cd and As, which makes these lakes unusable neither for irrigation nor for drinking water supply. In addition to some statistical analyses, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk (Eri ) , and other pollution indices were applied to assess pollution levels of sediments. The obtained values of Igeo and the comparison with the sediment quality guidelines reveals a high Pb contamination especially for the lakes located near next to the tailings. As for the Eri , it shows an extreme contamination by As in some studied lakes. The correlation results showed that Pb and As are from different sources. In fact, the tailings could represent the most important source of Pb, while the As can be related to lithogenic or anthropogenic sources. Keywords Zaida mine · Metallic trace elements · Contamination · Tailings · Open pit quarry lakes
1 Introduction Mining is one of the most reproductive activities of heavy metals in the environment (Razo et al. 2004). Extraction operations, mining crushing, ore beneficiation and the evacuation of residues are the biggest sources of environmental contamination (Adriano 2001). In Morocco, there are many mining sites that have been abandoned over the years and need to be restored. Indeed, these sites generate significant quantities of contaminants, which cause * Siham Bouzekri [email protected] 1
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modeling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSET, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
2
Geoscience and Environment Team Geology Laboratory, CRMEF RABAT, Rabat, Morocco
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several impacts on the environment, such as: pollution of soils, waters, sediments, destruction or disturbance of natural habitats, visual impact on the landscape, effects on the level of groundwater and others. The Zaida mine, located at 30 km northwest of Midelt in the High Moulouya, is the example taken in this study; it has been operated actively between 1972 and 1985 (El Hachimi et al. 2013). Currently, the Zaida mining center is abandoned without any restoration, which induced many problems such as open pit quarries filled with water, stocks of not vegetated tailings, abandoned installation (mining workshops, abandoned equipmen
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