Release of heavy metals during weathering of the Lower Cambrian Black shales in western Hunan, China

Weathering of heavy metal enriched black shales may be one of the most important sources of environmental contamination in areas where black shales are distributed. Heavy metal release during weathering of the Lower Cambrian Black Shales (LCBS) in western Hunan, China, was investigated using traditi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental earth sciences 2004-06, Vol.45 (8), p.1137-1147
Main Authors: PENG, Bo, ZHAOLIANG SONG, XIANGLING TU, MEILIAN XIAO, FUCHENG WU, HUANZHE LV
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cadmium
Cambrian
Coal mines
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Exact sciences and technology
Geochemistry
Groundwater
Heavy metals
Lead
Metal concentrations
Metals
Pollution, environment geology
Shales
Soil and rock geochemistry
Surface water
Topsoil
Trace elements
Vanadium
Weathering
Zinc
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Summary:Weathering of heavy metal enriched black shales may be one of the most important sources of environmental contamination in areas where black shales are distributed. Heavy metal release during weathering of the Lower Cambrian Black Shales (LCBS) in western Hunan, China, was investigated using traditional geochemical methods and the ICP-MS analytical technique. Concentrations of 16 heavy metals, 8 trace elements and P were measured for samples from selected weathering profiles at the Taiping vanadium ore mine (TP), the Matian phosphorous ore mine (MT), and Taojiang stone-coal mine (TJ). The results show that the bedrock at these three profiles is enriched with Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Th, U, Mo, Cd, Sb, Tl, and P. Based on mass-balance calculation, the percentages of heavy metals released (in % loss) relative to immobile element Nb were estimated. The results show significant rates of release during weathering of: V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, U, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, and Tl for the TP profile; Sc, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Th, Cd, and Sn for the MT profile; and Sc, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Th, Cd, Sn, and Tl for the TJ profile. Among these heavy metals, Co, Ni, Zn, Cd, and Sn show very similar features of release from each of the three weathering profiles. The heavy metals released during weathering may affect the environment (especially topsoil and surface waters) and are possibly related to an observed high incidence of endemic diseases in the area.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0943-0105
1866-6280
1432-0495
1866-6299
DOI:10.1007/s00254-004-0974-7