Leachability of arsenic and heavy metals from mine tailings of abandoned metal mines.

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 Nov;6(11):2865-79. Epub 2009 Nov 17.
Lim M, Han GC, Ahn JW, You KS, Kim HS.
Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Gwahang-no, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Korea. limmh@paran.com
Abstract
Mine tailings from an abandoned metal mine in Korea contained high concentrations of arsenic (As) and heavy metals [e.g., As: 67,336, Fe: 137,180, Cu: 764, Pb: 3,572, and Zn: 12,420 (mg/kg)]. US EPA method 6010 was an effective method for analyzing total arsenic and heavy metals concentrations. Arsenic in the mine tailings showed a high residual fraction of 89% by a sequential extraction. In Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and Korean Standard Leaching Test (KSLT), leaching concentrations of arsenic and heavy metals were very low [e.g., As (mg/L): 0.4 for TCLP and 0.2 for KSLT; cf. As criteria (mg/L): 5.0 for TCLP and 1.5 for KSLT].