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Bioaccessibility of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in mine waste, urban soil, and road dust in the historical mining village of Kaňk, Czech Republic

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Abstract

Historical mining activities in the village of Kaňk (in the northern part of the Kutná Hora ore district, Czech Republic) produced large amounts of mine wastes which contain significant amounts of metal(loid) contaminants such as As, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Given the proximity of residential communities to these mining residues, we investigated samples of mine waste (n = 5), urban soil (n = 6), and road dust (n = 5) with a special focus on the solid speciation of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn using a combination of methods (XRD, SEM/EDS, oxalate extractions), as well as on in vitro bioaccessibility in simulated gastric and lung fluids to assess the potential exposure risks for humans. Bulk chemical analyses indicated that As is the most important contaminant in the mine wastes (~1.15 wt%), urban soils (~2900 mg/kg) and road dusts (~440 mg/kg). Bioaccessible fractions of As were quite low (4–13%) in both the simulated gastric and lung fluids, while the bioaccessibility of metals ranged between <0.01% (Pb) and 68% (Zn). The bioaccessibilities of the metal(loid)s were dependent on the mineralogy and different adsorption properties of the metal(loid)s. Based on our results, a potential health risk, especially for children, was recognized from the ingestion of mine waste materials and highly contaminated urban soil. Based on the risk assessment, arsenic was found to be the element posing the greatest risk.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) Grant 16-09352S. The corresponding author’s team was also supported by the Operational Programme Prague - Competitiveness (Project No. CZ.2.16/3.1.00/21516). Laboratory assistance was provided by Lenka Jílková, Věra Vonásková (digestions), and Noemi Meszárosová (SEM/EDS). Peter Lemkin is thanked for reviewing the English.

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  1. Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Petr Drahota & Karel Raus

  2. Public Health Institute in Ústí nad Labem, Moskevská 15, 400 01, Ústi nad Labem, Czech Republic

    Eva Rychlíková

  3. Institute of Geology, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6-Lysolaje, Czech Republic

    Jan Rohovec

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  1. Petr Drahota
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Drahota, P., Raus, K., Rychlíková, E. et al. Bioaccessibility of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in mine waste, urban soil, and road dust in the historical mining village of Kaňk, Czech Republic. Environ Geochem Health 40, 1495–1512 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9999-1

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