Metal and Metalloid Contaminants in Atmospheric Aerosols from Mining Operations
Janae Csavina,Andrea C. Landázuri,Anna Wonaschütz,Kyle P. Rine,Paul Rheinheimer,Brian Barbaris,William C. Conant,Avelino E Saez,Eric A. Betterton +8 more
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TLDR
The size-fractionated chemical characterization of atmospheric aerosols sampled over a period of a year near an active mining and smelting site in Arizona show that arsenic and lead concentrations follow a bimodal distribution, with maxima centered at approximately 0.3 and 7.0 μm diameter, and it is hypothesize that the sub-micron arsenic andLead are the product of condensation and coagulation of Smelting vapors.Abstract:
Mining operations are potential sources of airborne metal and metalloid contaminants through both direct smelter emissions and wind erosion of mine tailings. The warmer, drier conditions predicted for the Southwestern US by climate models may make contaminated atmospheric dust and aerosols increasingly important, with potential deleterious effects on human health and ecology. Fine particulates such as those resulting from smelting operations may disperse more readily into the environment than coarser tailings dust. Fine particles also penetrate more deeply into the human respiratory system, and may become more bioavailable due to their high specific surface area. In this work, we report the size-fractionated chemical characterization of atmospheric aerosols sampled over a period of a year near an active mining and smelting site in Arizona. Aerosols were characterized with a 10-stage (0.054 to 18 μm aerodynamic diameter) multiple orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI), a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and a total suspended particulate (TSP) collector. The MOUDI results show that arsenic and lead concentrations follow a bimodal distribution, with maxima centered at approximately 0.3 and 7.0 μm diameter. We hypothesize that the sub-micron arsenic and lead are the product of condensation and coagulation of smelting vapors. In the coarse size, contaminants are thought to originate as aeolian dust from mine tailings and other sources. Observation of ultrafine particle number concentration (SMPS) show the highest readings when the wind comes from the general direction of the smelting operations site.read more
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Foliar heavy metal uptake, toxicity and detoxification in plants: A comparison of foliar and root metal uptake.
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A review on the importance of metals and metalloids in atmospheric dust and aerosol from mining operations.
Janae Csavina,Jason P. Field,Mark Patrick Taylor,Song Gao,Andrea C. Landázuri,Eric A. Betterton,A. Eduardo Sáez +6 more
TL;DR: The findings suggest that mining operations play an important but underappreciated role in the generation of contaminated atmospheric dust and aerosol and the transport of metal and metalloid contaminants, and highlight the need for further research in this area.
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Research on aerosol sources and chemical composition: Past, current and emerging issues
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Soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters: A review
TL;DR: In this paper, a review summarizes over 160 studies focused on soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters, with an emphasis on the combinations of traditional geo-chemical approaches with various mineralogical and metal isotope techniques that are particularly helpful for depicting the fate of smelter-derived contamination in the soil.
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Effect of wind speed and relative humidity on atmospheric dust concentrations in semi-arid climates.
Janae Csavina,Jason P. Field,Omar Felix,Alba Yadira Corral-Avitia,A. Eduardo Sáez,Eric A. Betterton +5 more
TL;DR: It is shown that relative humidity and wind speed are both determinants in atmospheric dust concentration, and models for dust storm forecasting may be improved by utilizing atmospheric humidity andWind speed as main drivers for dust generation and transport.
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