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Characterization of sediments in an abandoned mining area; a case study of Mansfeld region, Germany

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The distribution of selected heavy metals, including some radionuclides, metalloids and non-metals was determined in stream sediments in a region influenced by abandoned copper mining and ore processing activities. A considerable amount of the ore processing waste with a very complex composition and highly elevated concentrations of zinc, sulfur, lead, copper, arsenic, and a lot of other elements in the range between 100 and 1,000 mg/kg (Sb, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Hg, and Ag) was piled up on mine dumps. The dispersion of the pollutants originating from this source and their environmental impact were investigated. Both, sediments and original waste material were studied to indicate the pathways and the mobilization behavior of different pollutants. For this purpose, the process of the elution of pollutants by application of different fractionation schemes was studied. The capabilities of different analytical techniques are shown for the analysis of solid samples (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Gamma-spectrometry) and liquid ones (ICP-atomic emission spectrometry, ICP-mass spectrometry and different techniques of atomic absorption). Additionally, the coupling of ion chromatography and ICP-MS detection was used to study the distribution of arsenic species in the sediment cores of a lake which acts as a natural sink for the region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Rainer Wennrich, Jürgen Mattusch, Peter Morgenstern, Klaus Freyer, Hanns-Christian Treutler, Hans-Joachim Stärk & Lutz Brüggemann

  2. Department of Chemical Ecotoxicology, Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 , Leipzig, Germany

    Albrecht Paschke

  3. Department of Groundwater Remediation, Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Birgit Daus & Holger Weiss

Authors
  1. Rainer Wennrich
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  2. Jürgen Mattusch
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  3. Peter Morgenstern
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  4. Klaus Freyer
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  5. Hanns-Christian Treutler
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  6. Hans-Joachim Stärk
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  7. Lutz Brüggemann
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  8. Albrecht Paschke
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  9. Birgit Daus
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  10. Holger Weiss
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Correspondence to Rainer Wennrich.

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Wennrich, R., Mattusch, J., Morgenstern, P. et al. Characterization of sediments in an abandoned mining area; a case study of Mansfeld region, Germany. Env Geol 45, 818–833 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0942-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0942-7

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