Environmental Contamination and Bioavailability of Toxic Element around the Daduk Mine Area, Korea

다덕광산 주변지역에서의 독성원소들의 환경오염 및 인체흡수도

In order to investigate the extent and degree of arsenic and heavy metal contamination and the bioavailability of toxic elements around the abandoned mine in Korea, an environmental geochemical survey was undertaken in the Daduk mine. After appropriate preparation, tailings, soil, stream sediment, crop plant and fingernail samples were analysed for As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Elevated levels of 8,782 mg/kg As, 8.3 mg/kg Cd, 489 mg/kg Cu, 3,638 mg/kg Pb and 919 mg/kg Zn were found in tailings from the Daduk mine. These significant concentrations can impact on soils and sediments around the tailing ponds. Mean concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in soils are significantly higher than those in world average soil, especially for As and Pb. Element concentrations in sediments decrease with distance from the tailing ponds due to a dilution effect by the mixing of uncontaminated sediments. Arsenic and Cd are elevated in rice grains and stalks, and Cu and Zn concentrations in chinese cabbage, sesame and bean leaves are higher than the upper limit values for normal plant. Arsenic concentration in fingernails of farmers are higher than the normal level with a maximum value of 1.5 mg/kg. The post-ingestion bioavailability of toxic heavy metals in some paddy and farmland soils has been also investigated using the SBET (simple bioavailability extract test) method. The method utilises synthetic leaching fluids closelyanalogous to those of the human stomach. The quantities of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn extracted from paddy soils after 1 hour indicated 15.9, 65.4, 46.2, 39.4 and 29.4% bioavailability, respectively and for farmland soils, 12.4, 26.0, 31.2, 29.3 and 19.4% bioavailability, respectively. The results of the SBET indicate that regular ingestion of soils by the local population could pose a potential health threat due to long-term toxic element exposure.