Environmental Contamination of Arsenic and Heavy Metals around Cho Dien Lead and Zinc Mine, Vietnam

Abstract

An onsite survey of heavy metal pollution in the environment, including tailings, soil, and water around Cho Dien mine was conducted. There is considerable amount of heavy metal pollutants, such as As, Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, present at various levels in soil, surface water, and drinking water. Note that, most of the soil samples are being severely polluted with Pb, Zn, Cd and As. The results showed that 100% of soil samples contained Pb and Zn exceeding the Vietnamese standards. Tailings sample was found to contain elevated levels of these pollutants. Overall, surface water and drinking water around the mining area were found to have low As, Cd, and Cu content. Meanwhile, there have been quality problems for drinking water and surface water containing relatively high concentrations of Pb, with 45.4% and 40% of total samples exceeding the allowable standard, respectively. High concentrations of Pb were found in some water samples collected from sites close to the mining area and tailings dam. Mining wastes and tailings are sources of heavy metal pollution and may result in ecotoxicological effects on terrestrial, groundwater and aquatic ecosystems. On the other hand, the source identification of contaminants was made partially by the examination of the distribution map and also based on what other researchers mentioned.

Environmental contamination characteristics of heavy metals from abandoned lead–zinc mine tailings in China

“…As illustrated in Table 1, only three studies in other countries and regions reported on this subject, including studies in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Korea. The groundwater surrounding the lead-zinc mines from Vietnam contained the highest heavy metal concentrations, with a mean value of 71 mg/L among four selected studies, owing to the higher heavy metal content in soils in the vicinity of lead-zinc mines (Ha et al, 2011;Hien et al, 2012). The mean concentration of the eight heavy metals in groundwater in this study was moderate compared to those of the other three studies.…”

Blood Lead Levels and Associated Sociodemographic Factors among Children Aged 3 to 14 Years Living near Zinc and Lead Mines in Two Provinces in Vietnam

“…With respect to pollution in drinking water, the results showed that approximately 10% of samples have lead concentrations exceeding the permitted standards in Vietnam. The problem of lead pollution in the environment has been known for many years despite intervention by the local authorities [ 15 , 17 , 18 ]. Typically, research conducted by author Nguyen Thi Thu Hien (2012) showed that the lead concentration in soil and drinking water in 3 villages in Ban Thi (Phja Khao, Ban Nhuong, and Hop Tien) was much lower than our study.…”

“…Typically, research conducted by author Nguyen Thi Thu Hien (2012) showed that the lead concentration in soil and drinking water in 3 villages in Ban Thi (Phja Khao, Ban Nhuong, and Hop Tien) was much lower than our study. This may indicate that the accumulation of lead in the soil over time may be due to mining and production activities [ 18 ]. These findings show an alarming risk of lead contamination in children and the urgent need to have interventions for these environmental issues in these specific residential areas, in parallel with medical interventions.…”

“…Research in Tan Long, Thai Nguyen, showed that lead concentrations in lead-zinc mines exceed the permitted standards by 186 times, while the agricultural and forestry soil samples exceed the permitted standards by 1.6 to 5.8 times [ 17 ]. In Bac Kan, a study at the Cho Dien zinc–lead mine area showed that 100% of soil samples and 45.4% of drinking water samples exceeded the permitted standards for lead [ 18 ].…”

Effects of Backfilling Excavated Underground Space on Reducing Acid Mine Drainage in an Abandoned Mine

“…Acid mine drainage (AMD) is generated at many active, closed, and abandoned mines throughout the world. AMD is a serious environmental issue in the mining industry [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], which is generally characterized by low pH and high concentrations of sulfate, heavy metals (e.g., copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd)) [10,11], and metalloids (e.g., arsenic (As), [12]). Low pH is caused by oxidation of sulfide minerals and dissolves heavy metals in the host rock.…”