Mercury and Arsenic Discharge from Circumneutral Waters Associated with the Former Mining Area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Tuscany, Central Italy)

Marta Lazzaroni, Marino Vetuschi Zuccolini, Barbara Nisi, Jacopo Cabassi, Stefano Caliro, Daniele Rappuoli and Orlando Vaselli
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Marta Lazzaroni: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy
Marino Vetuschi Zuccolini: Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Barbara Nisi: CNR-IGG, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy
Jacopo Cabassi: CNR-IGG, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy
Stefano Caliro: INGV—Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via Diocleziano 328, 80124 Napoli, Italy
Daniele Rappuoli: Unione dei Comuni Amiata-Val d’Orcia, Unità di Bonifica, Via Grossetana 209, Piancastagnaio, 53025 Siena, Italy
Orlando Vaselli: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Dissolved and suspended toxic elements in water discharged from abandoned and active mining areas pose several critical issues, since they represent a threat to the environment. In this work, we investigated the water, suspended particulates, and stream sediments of a 2.1 km long creek (Fosso della Chiusa) that is fed by waters draining the galleries of the abandoned Hg mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Tuscany, central Italy). The geochemical results show evidence that the studied matrices are characterized by relatively high concentrations of Hg and As, whereas those of Sb are generally close to or below the instrumental detection limit. Independent of the matrices, the concentration of As decreases from the emergence point to the confluence with the Pagliola creek. In contrast, Hg concentrations display more complex behavior, as water and sediment are mainly characterized by concentrations that significantly increase along the water course. According to the geoaccumulation index (I geo ), sediments belong to Class 6 (extremely contaminated) for Hg. The I geo of As varies from Class 6, close to the emergence, to Class 2 (moderately contaminated), dropping to Class 0 (uncontaminated) at the confluence with the Pagliola creek. Finally, the total mass load of Hg and As entering the Pagliola creek was computed to be 1.3 and 0.5 kg/year, respectively, when a mean flow rate of 40 L/s was considered. The calculated loads are relatively low, but, when the Fosso della Chiusa drainage basin is taken into account, the specific load is comparable to, or even higher than, those of other mining areas.

Keywords: abandoned Hg mines; Mt. Amiata; river chemistry; geoaccumulation index; total mass load; mercury; arsenic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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