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Reclamation of Pb/Zn smelter wastes in Upper Silesia, Poland.
Abstract
Water and wind erosion of toxic smelter waste is an urgent environmental problem in the Silesia region of Poland. Two differing (Welz and Doerschel process) Pb/Zn smelter wastes were stabilized in 1994 by application of heavy loads ofCaCO, (30 Mg ha"), CaO (1.5-15 Mg ha"), and municipal sewage sludge (150-300 Mg ha "), followed by seeding with acid-and salt-tolerant grasses. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that amendments with CaO can effectively reduce metal solubility to ppb levels, however, the use of CaCO] alone did not sufficiently suppress metal solubility. The revegetation of much of the Doerschel material area failed initially, so the area was capped with waste lime and retreated with sludge (300 Mg ha") in 1995. Standing biomass averaged 3.3 Mg ha" and 2.9 Mg ha" in the fall of 1997 for the Welz and Doerschel wastes, respectively.
... Thus, the goal of this paper is to give an overview of these ideas, with references to full papers and book-chapters which more fully report the science which allows the improved risk assessment and practical soil metal remediation. One of the most important advances in soil metal remediation is our development of using phosphate rich, high Fe biosolids and composts, and lime rich woodash and other lime-containing byproducts to make "Tailor-Made" Remediation Biosolids Mixtures and Composts and readily achieve effective revegetation and ecosystem restoration at such metal contaminated sites (see Chaney, Ryan and Brown, 1999;Stuczynski et al., 1997;Li and Chaney, 1998;Daniels et al., 1998;Brown et al., 1998b;Siebielec and Chaney, 1999;Li et al., 2000). ...
... Using such mixtures has been shown to provide a "one-shot" persistent remediation and revegetation of metal contaminated sites such as Palmerton, PA (Li et al., 2000), Katowice, Poland (Stuczynski et al., 1997;Daniels et al., 1998), and Kellogg, ID (Brown et al., 1998;, where mine wastes and smelter slags and emissions killed ecosystems. Plants growing on the remediated sites contain levels of Zn and other elements which are safe for lifetime consumption by livestock or wildlife. ...
Our research on beneficial use of biosolids has been shown in laboratory and field studies that amendment of urban soils can reduce plant uptake of soil Pb and the bioavailability of Pb in ingested soil. Similar remediation is achieved by biosolids plus limestone at Pb, Zn, and Cd contaminated soils at Superfund Sites. Further, by combining other byproducts of agriculture, industry and urban industries with biosolids, and processing to fit the end use (composted or stabilized as needed), we have illustrated the use of “Tailor-Made Biosolids Mixtures” to inactivate soil Pb in urban soils and remediate dead soils.
High Fe, P, and fertility of biosolids amended soils aid in precipitation and adsorption of soil Pb, and adsorption of soil Cd, Zn, and other elements. In the case of Pb, we have conducted soil feeding tests to measure the effectiveness of biosolids constituents and processing on bioavailability of Pb in the amended soils. For urban soils from Baltimore, bioavailability of Pb has been reduced by as much as 60% at 30 days after adding 224 t/ha of high Fe biosolids or composted biosolids. Other research has shown that part of this reduction in bioavailability is the formation of chloropyromorphite, a very insoluble Pb mineral. Thus the remediation effectiveness is expected to only increase w ith time as precipitation is more complete. The low solubility of both Pb and Pin soils slows the precipitation reaction, but the high Fe and P in the biosolids provides strong selective adsorption of metals such as Pb.
Urban soils are statistically Pb contaminated by many sources. Houseside soils with 5% Pb have been found even in rural settings when high Pb paint fell onto soil. Historic automotive and stack emission Pb also contributes to urban soil Pb. Most US children who have excessive blood-Pb live in older center cities w here their environment is high in Pb, although interior paint Pb remains the most important source of excessive Pb absorption. Thus remediation of soil Pb can be achieved at little cost by incorporation of composted Fe rich biosolids and seeding or sodding. Superfund addresses the soil Pb risk of only a small fraction of US children because urban soil Pb does not come from a know n industrial source. The combination of high fertility and improved soil condition and water holding capacity from the biosolids amendment supports strong cover with turf grasses, making soil transfer to children much more difficult. Using composted (and some other treated) biosolids products rich in Fe and P (Class A disinfection) in urban soils can provide important public health benefits by reducing Pb risk from urban soils.
This same approach is effective in remediation/revegetation of risks at hazardous smelter contaminated soils, mine wastes, and many metal contaminated soils and industrial wastes. In cooperation with EPA's Superfund Emergency Response Team, we have tested use of mixtures of biosolids with alkaline byproducts (wood ash; coal ash; limes) and wood byproducts rich in carbon, for revegetation of Superfund sites at Palmerton, PA, Kellogg, ID; Leadville, CO; and Joplin, MO; as well as smelter slags in Katowice, Poland. Very effective and persistent revegetation has been demonstrated at sites where traditional hydroseeding with limestone and fertilizer has been ineffective; one can get grasses started by the hyrdroseeding approach, but w hen the first hot dry period hits the site, these plants die quickly. On adjacent plots with Tailor-Made biosolids mixtures, grasses and legumes thrived. The semisolid mixture was surface applied on up to 100% slopes, and was not eroded by rainfall. The reaction of wood ash or fly ash with biosolids causes some “setting up” such that rainfall does not cause erosion before plants become established; yet water percolates through the mixture well, and roots grow thru the layer and enter the contaminated soil as soon as pH is raised. For surface deposited metals from smelter contamination of mountain soils (up to 100% slopes), surface application was highly effective in reducing metal phyto- and bio-availability. The limestone equivalent of the mixture can be leached down the soil profile if the mixture contains both limestone and biodegradable organic matter, while inorganic limestone products do not penetrate to neutralize subsurface acidity. Making the rooting depth calcareous is an important part of persistent remediation of high Zn soils. We have achieved effective revegetation on mine waste and smelter slag with over 10,000 mg Zn/kg soil. The high phosphate in these mixtures supplies P for precipitation of Pb, and having enough left over to support plant growth; particularly for eroded forest sites, most phosphate is lost from erosion of the organic layer and the soils are very phosphate deficient with the high soil Zn inhibiting root growth to get P. Plants accumulate far lower metal concentrations on the amended soils, such that the biomass is a safe forage for lifetime consumption by livestock or wildlife. Where deep deposits of acid generating minew astes require revegetation, incorporation of limestone equivalent and biosolids products is more likely to be successful than surface application because a larger rooting volume can be made non-phytotoxic. Thus a new market for biosolids has been demonstrated which provides great public benefit and illustrates that metals in biosolids are part of the solution to metal contaminated sites, not an important soil contamination problem.
... The phytostabilization technology has been successfully applied on Pb-, Zn-and Cdcontaminated sites in the USA and Poland. (Daniels et al., 1998;Li et al., 2000;Brown et al., 2003) and on Ni-contaminated sites in Canada (Kukier and Chaney, 2001). ...
The environmental, social and economic problems associated with abandoned mine sites are serious and global. Environmental damage arising from polluted waters and dispersal of contaminated waste is a feature characteristic of many old mines in North America, Australia, Europe and elsewhere. Today, because of the efficiency of mining operations and legal requirements in many countries for prevention of environmental damage from mining operations, the release of metals to the environment from modern mining is low. However, many mineralized areas that were extensively worked in the 18th and 19th centuries and left abandoned after mining had ceased, have left a legacy of metal contaminated land.
Unlike organic chemicals and plastics, metals cannot be degraded chemically or biologically into non-toxic and environmentally neutral constituents. Thus sites contaminated with toxic metals present a particular challenge for remediation. Soil remediation has been the subject of a significant amount of research work in the past decade; this has resulted in a number of remediation options currently available or being developed.
Remediation strategies for metal/metalloid contaminated historical mining sites are reviewed and summarized in this article. It focuses on the current applications of in situ remediation with the use of soil amendments (adsorption and precipitation based methods are discussed) and phytoremediation fin situ plant based technology for environmental clean up and restoration). These are promising alternative technologies to traditional options of excavation and ex situ treatment, offering an advantage of being non-invasive and low cost. In particular, they have been shown to be effective in remediation of mining and smelting contaminated sites, although the long-term durability of these treatments cannot be predicted.
guía metodológica para la aplicación de la metodología de fitoestabilización asistida en la rehabilitación de relaves mineros y suelos degradados químicamente en zonas semiáridas
For years, metallophytes of both natural and human-influenced metalliferous soils have focussed considerable attention due to their unique appearance and ability to colonize often extremely harsh habitats. A majority of metal-contaminated areas comprise serpentine (ultramafic, rich in Ni, Cr and Co) and calamine (rich in Zn, Pb and Cd) soils hosting characteristic serpentine and calamine flora, which is the focus of this review. Through microevolution, the plants inhabiting metalliferous habitats have developed a range of intriguing adaptive traits, demonstrated as characteristic morphological, behavioural and physiological alterations that enable them to avoid and/or tolerate metal toxicity. The mechanisms responsible for protection of the plant cell from metals entering the protoplast as well as for detoxification of toxic metal ions inside the cell by chelation, vacuolar sequestration and exclusion from the protoplast are reviewed. These mechanisms have resulted in highly specialized plants able to hyperaccumulate or avoid metals in the shoots. Potential applications of both kinds of metallophytes in rehabilitation and phytoremediation of metal-polluted sites are briefly discussed. Moreover, other beneficial applications of metal-rich plant biomass are mentioned, e.g., as a bio-ore for precious metal recovery (phytomining, agromining), a by-product for eco-catalyst production or a natural source of micronutrients that are essential for human diet and health (biofortification). The need of active protection of metalliferous sites and conservation of metallophyte biodiversity is pointed out.
This paper focuses on the use of biosolids as amendments to mined lands, which when used properly, promote soil ecosystem recovery and encourage the development of a self-sustaining plant community. Most of the biosolids products that have been applied to mined lands to date have been dewatered anaerobically digested sludge cake or mixtures of anaerobic cake with composted wood chips. Amendment of mine soils with biosolids has been shown to increase soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, soil nutrient levels, and to promote soil ecosystem recovery after surface mining. Very high rates of biosolids have been applied to highly acidic coal refuse piles and smelter wastes in an attempt to ameliorate the very low pH, high potential acidity, general infertility, and low water holding capacity of these areas. Pathogen transmittal is presumed not to be a problem if biosolids that have undergone pathogen reduction processes are used and proper application procedures are followed. If USEPA trace metal concentration and loading limits are followed, and if soil pH is maintained, the risk of trace metals entering the food chain or contaminating groundwater is extremely low. Nitrate leaching to groundwater is a potential risk from heavy biosolids loading, but does not appear to be a significant risk from one-time applications. Nitrate leaching from higher than agronomic rate loadings can be limited by adjusting the carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio of the applied materials with sawdust or woodchips. Care should be taken when applying biosolids to materials with high potential acidity such as coal refuse piles and pyritic mine soils to insure that adequate lime is applied to buffer the pH above 7.0 for long periods of time. Very positive long-term revegetation success results have been reported in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia and Poland following utilization of biosolids at high rates coupled with appropriate liming materials.
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