Abstract
In Greenland, legacy mines provide testimony to how pollution still
affects the sensitive Arctic environment. These legacy mines serve as valuable
study sites that can improve future predictions on environmental consequences
of mining operations in Greenland and other areas in the Arctic. Environmental
studies at legacy mine sites in Greenland have previously focused on the
leaching of pollutants into the marine environment and little is known about the
spatial distribution of pollution in the terrestrial environment at these sites.
In the current study, we present preliminary data from an environmental survey
at the Blyklippen legacy mine. Blyklippen was a lead and zinc mine in East
Greenland that operated between 1956-1963. Mining operations caused
substantial pollution of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and other heavy minerals such as
cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba) and copper (Cu), still measurable today. The primary
sources of pollution today are the tailings storage facility and remains of ore
concentrate spills along the haul road and at the quay areas at the harbor.
Pollution is dispersed from these sites into the surrounding environment by
wind and water. A total number of 995 discrete sediment samples were
collected over 10 days at the Blyklippen mine site and surrounding area of
Mestersvig from 178 sampling locations at depth intervals of 5 cm.
The aim of the current study is to investigate and map the spatial distribution of
heavy metals in the environment surrounding the Blyklippen legacy mine using
both field measurements by portable X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF)
on depth specific sediment samples at in situ conditions and laboratory
measurements on freeze-dried samples to investigate the effect of soil moisture
on the accuracy of the field screening. Field measurements were conducted
using short measurement times of 5-10 seconds, whereas laboratory
measurement times were 180 seconds.
Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of pXRF as a field measurement tool
for identifying the spatial delineation of soil pollution by comparing in situ
measurements against pre-defined natural background values for heavy metals
such as Pb and Zn. Comparison between Pb and Zn concentrations measured in
the field versus in the laboratory on freeze-dried samples showed a good
agreement for mineral soils. On organic and/or wet samples, field
concentrations were underestimated for some elements.
Overall, the approach shows that a fast and cost-effective large-scale field
survey at legacy mines is obtainable using pXRF, enabling an effective
identification of pollution ‘hotspots’ directly in the field. In combination with
geostatistical mapping, the approach can improve the overall accuracy of
environmental monitoring and mapping of pollution with enhanced
environmental protection at both legacy, recent and future mines.
affects the sensitive Arctic environment. These legacy mines serve as valuable
study sites that can improve future predictions on environmental consequences
of mining operations in Greenland and other areas in the Arctic. Environmental
studies at legacy mine sites in Greenland have previously focused on the
leaching of pollutants into the marine environment and little is known about the
spatial distribution of pollution in the terrestrial environment at these sites.
In the current study, we present preliminary data from an environmental survey
at the Blyklippen legacy mine. Blyklippen was a lead and zinc mine in East
Greenland that operated between 1956-1963. Mining operations caused
substantial pollution of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and other heavy minerals such as
cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba) and copper (Cu), still measurable today. The primary
sources of pollution today are the tailings storage facility and remains of ore
concentrate spills along the haul road and at the quay areas at the harbor.
Pollution is dispersed from these sites into the surrounding environment by
wind and water. A total number of 995 discrete sediment samples were
collected over 10 days at the Blyklippen mine site and surrounding area of
Mestersvig from 178 sampling locations at depth intervals of 5 cm.
The aim of the current study is to investigate and map the spatial distribution of
heavy metals in the environment surrounding the Blyklippen legacy mine using
both field measurements by portable X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF)
on depth specific sediment samples at in situ conditions and laboratory
measurements on freeze-dried samples to investigate the effect of soil moisture
on the accuracy of the field screening. Field measurements were conducted
using short measurement times of 5-10 seconds, whereas laboratory
measurement times were 180 seconds.
Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of pXRF as a field measurement tool
for identifying the spatial delineation of soil pollution by comparing in situ
measurements against pre-defined natural background values for heavy metals
such as Pb and Zn. Comparison between Pb and Zn concentrations measured in
the field versus in the laboratory on freeze-dried samples showed a good
agreement for mineral soils. On organic and/or wet samples, field
concentrations were underestimated for some elements.
Overall, the approach shows that a fast and cost-effective large-scale field
survey at legacy mines is obtainable using pXRF, enabling an effective
identification of pollution ‘hotspots’ directly in the field. In combination with
geostatistical mapping, the approach can improve the overall accuracy of
environmental monitoring and mapping of pollution with enhanced
environmental protection at both legacy, recent and future mines.
| Originalsprog | Dansk |
|---|---|
| Publikationsdato | 20 jun. 2024 |
| Status | Udgivet - 20 jun. 2024 |
| Begivenhed | International Conference on Geostatistics for Environmental Applications - Chania, Grækenland Varighed: 19 jun. 2024 → 21 jun. 2024 Konferencens nummer: 15 https://2024.geoenvia.org/ |
Konference
| Konference | International Conference on Geostatistics for Environmental Applications |
|---|---|
| Nummer | 15 |
| Land/Område | Grækenland |
| By | Chania |
| Periode | 19/06/2024 → 21/06/2024 |
| Internetadresse |