Geobiological assessment of the pollution effect of abandoned mine ores (Fej Lahdoum, Northwest Tunisia)
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Geobiological assessment of the pollution effect of abandoned mine ores (Fej Lahdoum, Northwest Tunisia) Jihène Nouairi 1 & Fernando Rocha 2 & Mounir Medhioub 1 Received: 7 January 2019 / Accepted: 3 October 2019 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2019
Abstract The present work deals with a geobiological assessment of metal pollution in the abandoned Fej Lahdoum mine in Northwest Tunisia. The geological part of the assessment deals with the petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical study of wastes, soils, and water collected from the mine. The biological part of the assessment investigated the metal presence within leaves and roots of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus and Typhonium flagelliforme species. Waste characterization revealed the presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) mainly Pb and Zn (46,040 and 17,650 mg kg−1, respectively, as average value). Anomalous contents in metals exceeding the geochemical background and global range specified for calcic soils are found with average concentrations up to 10,313 mg kg−1 for Pb and 5282 mg kg−1 for Zn, maximum levels are detected in soils in the immediate vicinity of the dumps particularly in the upper horizons but also in depth resulting from plowing and mud cracks which facilitated the incorporation and vertical migration of the pollutants. Enrichment factor (EF) and geoacumulation index (Igeo) indicated different classes of contamination of Fej Lahdoum soils. Metal concentration in plants and water is not very high compared to soils and does not exceed the maximum recommended concentrations, thus, not currently presenting a risk of contamination of the food chain. Nonetheless, further erosion and leaching would have relevant damage on water and plants. Keywords Geobiological assessment . Metal contamination . Mine wastes . Environment . Tunisia
Introduction Soil contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from industrial development is a significant environmental concern worldwide. The accumulation of PTE can degrade the geological environment (soil quality) and biological species by reducing the quality of agricultural products and threatening human health (Cao et al. 2016; Antoniadis et al. 2017). For this reason, the geobiological approach seems the more relevant to follow the spreading effect from soils to biota. In soils, although their lithogenic natural origin, high PTE concentrations are generally associated with anthropogenic activities (Hooda 2010). They are Responsible Editor: Haroun Chenchouni * Jihène Nouairi [email protected] 1
Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, 3018 Sfax, Tunisia
2
Geobiotec, Geosciences Dept, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
worldwide frequently concentrated in the vicinities of current or former industrial activities. In the case of a chronic pollution (Capozzi et al. 2017) over several decades, slow PTE geoaccumulation pathway is atmosphere, soil, and plants (e.g., roots, shoots; Xiong et al., 2014). Previous studies have indicated that bioassay
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