Masto, R.E. and Ram, L.C. and George , Joshy and Selvi, V.A. and Sinha, Awadhesh Kumar and Verma, S.K. and Rout, T.K. and Prabal, P. (2011) Impacts of opencast coal mine and mine fire on the trace elements' content of the surrounding soil vis-a-vis human health risk. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry , 93 (2). pp. 223-237. ISSN 0277-2248

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Abstract

Coal from its excavation, processing, and utilization creates environmental problems and health hazards. In these processes, the mobilization of potential organic and heavy metal contaminants affects the quality of soil and health of the inhabitants. Soil samples were collected from the nearby areas of an opencast coal mine (OCM) and a coal fire affected area (CFA) located in Jharia coalfield of Dhanbad, India. The control site was an abandoned land approximately 15km away from the sources of contamination. These samples were analyzed for trace elements including Cr, V, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Zr, Ba, Th, and U. The soils of OCM were enriched with Cr and Ni and this is attributed to the mining activities in view of the absence of other sources of pollutants. In case of CFA, the soils were enriched with Cr, V, Ni, and Zn. However, the concentrations of Cr, Ni, and Zn in both the soils were well below the USEPA soil screening levels for human health risk assessment. The levels of Co and V exceeded the soil screening limits. Human exposure risks were evaluated for Co and V. The total intake of V concentration exceeded the EPA’s reference dose, which may pose adverse health risks.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	trace metals; coal; mine fire; exposure assessment; enrichment
Subjects:	Enviornmental Management
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Dr. Satyendra Kumar Singh
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2012 06:26
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2012 06:26
URI:	http://cimfr.csircentral.net/id/eprint/805

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