Distribution and phytoavailability of antimony at an antimony mining and smelting area, Hunan, China

Abstract

An investigation of the distribution, fractionation and phytoavailability of antimony (Sb) and other heavy metals in soil sampled at various locations in the vicinity of a Sb mine revealed elevated levels of Sb, most certainly due to the mining activities. The concentration of Sb in the soil samples was 100.6-5045 mg kg(-1); in comparison, the maximum permissible concentration for Sb in soil in The Netherlands is 3.5 mg kg(-1), and the maximum permissible concentration of pollutant Sb in receiving soils recommended by the World Health Organization is 36 mg kg(-1). The soil sampled near the Sb mine areas had also contained high concentrations of As and Hg. Root and leaf samples from plants growing in the Sb mine area contained high concentrations of Sb, with the concentration of Sb in the leaves of radish positively correlating with Sb concentrations in soil. The distribution of Sb in the soil showed the following order: strongly bound to the crystalline matrix > adsorbed on Fe/Mn hydrous oxides, complexed to organic/sulfides, bound to carbonates > weakly bound and soluble. Solvents showed varying levels of effectiveness in extracting Sb (based on concentration) from the soil, with SbNH4NO3 > SbEDTA > SbHAc, SbH2O > SbNH4OAc, in decreasing order. The concentration of easily phytoavailable Sb was high and varied from 2.5 to 13.2 mg kg(-1), the percentage of moderately phytoavailable Sb ranged from 1.62 to 8.26%, and the not phytoavailable fraction represented 88.2-97.9% of total Sb in soils.

Speciation of antimony and arsenic in the soils and plants in an old antimony mine

“…The concentrations of Sb and As in the soils were within the ranges of soil Sb reported in previous studies He, 2007;Liu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2011;Wei et al, 2011), thus demonstrating significant enrichment in Sb. As an element that accompanies Sb, the concentration of As is elevated in the XKS mining area due to human activities.…”

“…Antimony mining in this area began in 1897, and the present annual production of Sb is 55,000 tons of ore and 40,000 tons of Sb products (Wang et al, 2011). The long-term, large-scale Sb mining and smelting activities have resulted in Sb, As and other heavy metal contamination of the local environment (Fu and Wei, 2013;He, 2007;Liu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2011;Wei et al, 2011). The concentrations of Sb in the soils have been measured at 100.6-5045 mg/kg; soil near the Sb mine also contains high concentrations of As (Fu and Wei, 2013;Wei et al, 2011).…”

Arsenic and Antimony Content in Soil and Plants from Baia Mare Area, Romania

“…No correlation has been obtained for the As and Sb content in the soil and respectively in the plants with the pH of the soil. (Hammel et al, 2000) Max 500 0.09-2.2 Poland (metallurgical site) (Gal et al, 2006) 3.13-9.16 Spain (mining site) (Casado et al, 2007) 42-4530 0.02-2.77 60-230 0.002-4.25 Scotland (mining site) (Gal et al, 2006) 17.4-50 1.19-10 Italy (mining site) (Gal et al, 2006) 16-691 1.63-11.44 Bulgaria (reference soil) (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 2001) 1.25-2.32 England (reference soil) (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 2001) 0.29-1.3 Norway (reference soil) (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 2001) 0.17-2.2 China (metallurgical site) (He, 2007) 100.6-5045 Australia (mining site) (Sultan, 2007) 7.44-395.8 New Jersey (chemical pesticides with As) (Cheng et al, 2007) 3.8-387 New Jersey (reference soil) (Cheng et al, 2007) 1.6-4.6 Canada (reference soil) (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 2001) 0.05-2.0 Brasilia (in park) (Figueiredo et al, 2007) 11.5-21.5 1.4-2.5 Mexico (mining site) (Rosas et al, 1999) Max 30 The results show the existence of a correlation between the As and Sb contents in the soil and respectively in the plants, taking us to the presumption that these elements follow a common cycle between the polluting source, soil and plant. It is generally accepted that in the process of the absorption of metals from the soil by plants the dominant factor is the metal content from the soil, but in the same time it can be affected by other factors as well including the pH of the soil (Jung and Thorntorn, 1996).…”

“…In contrast, in the areas with high mobile antimony a considerable accumulation in some plant is observed, especially in the leaves of spinach, but there are very few data on antimony accumulation in plants (De Gregori et al, 2004). The abundance of antimony in the earth's crust is 0.2 mg kg −1 and the background concentrations in soils are in the range of 0.3-8.4 mg kg −1 (He, 2007).…”

Adsorption of antimony(V) onto Mn(II)-enriched surfaces of manganese-oxide and Fe Mn binary oxide

“…Sb concentrations as high as several milligrams per liter have been reported in some water bodies near mining areas (Tessier et al, 1979;Hung et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2011), with Sb(V) found to be the dominant species He, 2007). After discharge, river sediments are an important sink for Sb immobilization, with FeAMn oxides the most important pool .…”