We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Increased As load to the Uchen stream due to mine drainage and soils in the abandoned Kangwon mining district of Korea.
- Authors
Koo, Namin; Kim, Kwon-Rae; Choi, Youn-Jung; Lee, Sang-Hwan; Owens, Gary; Kim, Jeong-Gyu
- Abstract
To determine the appropriate allocation of resources for the future restoration of the abandoned mining district of Kangwon in Korea, identification of the main pollutants and the main sources discharging these pollutants is crucial. Therefore, a 2-year study was undertaken to quantify the amount of pollutants in the Uchen stream (a potential sink for contamination), which runs through the district, and to determine the potential sources of these pollutants, including mine drainage and soil. Arsenic (As) was the main pollutant in mine drainage and soils showing concentrations above the Korean regulated standard levels of 50 μg L and 50 mg kg for water and soil, respectively. In addition, the pollution index (PI) showed that mine drainages were polluted by As to a moderate (2 ≤ PI < 3) or strong (4 ≤ PI < 5) degree. Consequently, As load in mine drainage and soil contributed to increased amounts of As in the stream. The As loads in mine drainages (11 and 587 g month for mine adit 1 and 2, respectively) accounted for only 9% of the total As load to the stream (6,378 g month); and the influence of mine drainages on As contents in the stream was more reliant on the total volume of mine drainage generated rather than the As concentration in the mine drainage. Approximately 91% of the As in the stream was derived from the soils within the study area.
- Subjects
KOREA; WATER pollution; ARSENIC &; the environment; ARSENIC compounds &; the environment; MINE drainage; TRACE elements; METAL tailings
- Publication
Environmental Earth Sciences, 2012, Vol 65, Issue 3, p689
- ISSN
1866-6280
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12665-011-1116-7