Minsarib L. Kalnasa, and Alma N. Abug, from the different institute of the Philippines. wrote a research article about, Heavy Metal Levels in Abandoned Mining Soil: Zamboanga City. entitled, Heavy metal concentrations in soil from abandoned mining area in Barangay Baluno, Zamboanga City, Philippines. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity, under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.
Abstract
The study aimed to
determine the extent of heavy metal contamination of Copper (Cu) and Lead (Pb)
in the soil from the abandoned mining area in Zamboanga City, Philippines using
the 2017 EMB Site Characterization Guidelines. Soil samples were randomly
collected from 3 meridional blocks at 2 different soil depths, 0-5cm and
20-25cm. Pb and Cu concentrations, organic matter (OM) percentages, pH and
Electrical Conductivity (EC) were analyzed using appropriate equipment across
sampling sites. The study revealed that heavy metal content in Block 3 exceeded
the maximum allowable concentrations based on WHO standard with an average mean
of 3,351.00mgkg-1 Pb and 498.67mgkg-1 Cu at 20-25cm soil depth. Moreover, at
0-5cm soil depth, Block 3 had 4176.33mgkg-1 Pb and 494.67mgkg-1 Cu.
Furthermore, soil pH was strongly acidic across all blocks with values of pH 5.0
at Block 1; pH 4.7 at Block 2 and pH 4.1 at Block 3. For EC and OM percentages,
results ranged from 183.33 μS/cm to 286.67 μS/cm and 1.81% to 4.05%,
respectively. Using Analysis of Variance at P < 0.05, this study further
revealed that there is a significant difference of Pb and Cu concentrations in
3 meridional blocks at 0.001. This indicates that heavy metal concentrations
present in the soil varies in the 3 blocks. However, in physico-chemical
parameters, only organic matter has significant difference in all blocks at P
≤0.01. Based from the findings, it is recommended that counter measures be
undertaken to minimize further retrogressive impacts of mine tailings left in
the area specifically in Block 3.
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Introduction
Abandoned mining sites are significant sources of metal pollution even after centuries due to presence of contaminants in the soil. Toxic metals that remain in the soil and tailing ponds have the potential to travel and contaminate environmental habitats such as soil, water, groundwater, and air. It has the potential to alter soil texture, deplete nutrients, penetrate the food chain, create harmful consequences, and destroy ecological habitat and biological variety, including plants (Conesa et al., 2006; Baker et al., 2010; Rashed, 2010).
Soil pollution by heavy metals is a global environmental issue. Heavy metal contaminants represent a health risk to humans through food chain transfer from soils to crops, prompting increased scientific and public awareness of the issue (Alloway 1995; Oliver 1997; Chen and Lee, 1995; Chen et al., 2000) particularly in the areas close to industrial sites and in the vicinity of mining and smelting plants (Pushenreiter et al., 2005). Heavy metal pollution of soils can also be caused by the parent material's high heavy metal content (Huang, 1962; Reeves, 2003). People living in the area may not be aware of the soil pollution, according to Navarrete and Asio (2011), who cautioned that the risk posed by polluted soils is caused by a lack of awareness of people living in the area, who may not be aware of the presence of these pollutants and their health effects.
This study evaluated the concentrations of heavy metals in soil from abandoned mining area in Barangay Baluno, Zamboanga City. Soils in the surrounding mining areas are probably polluted by heavy metals which could possibly pose high health risks to the adjacent community (Li, 2014). The study area has been abandoned for a decade and this study would like to assess the possible contamination of heavy metals in the soil in the present. It was hypothesized that the soils from the abandoned mining area are highly concentrated with heavy metals. The main goal of this study was to determine the concentration of copper and lead in the soils from the abandoned mining area.
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