Evaluating spatiotemporal patterns of arsenic, antimony, and lead deposition from legacy gold mine emissions using lake sediment records

Jasiak, Izabela; Wiklund, Johan A.; Leclerc, Émilie; Telford, James V.; Couture, Raoul-Marie; Venkiteswaran, Jason J.; Hall, Roland I.; Wolfe, Brent B.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2021.105053

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Previous studies in the region have inferred the continued loading of As to lakes from contaminated soils in the catchment through interpretation of lake sediment records (Jasiak et al, 2021;Schuh et al, 2019;Thienpont et al, 2016). Here we provide the first estimates of terrestrial contributions of As to lakes in the region and confirm the ongoing loading of As to lakes from contaminated soils more than 50 years after the bulk of mining emissions were released and 20 years after atmospheric mining emissions in the region ended.…”

Section: Annual Fluxes Dominated By Regional Stream Hydrologysupporting

confidence: 71%

“…The regional distribution of As in soils has been recently revisited by Jamieson et al (2017). Additional regional surveys have explored the contemporary distribution of As in lake waters and lake sediments (Galloway et al, 2017;Houben et al, 2016;Palmer et al, 2015), with impacts from mining emissions recorded in lake sediments at least as far as 80 km downwind (Jasiak et al, 2021).…”

Section: Mining Pollution Landscape Recovery and Research Justificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A detailed summary of mining operations at Giant Mine is provided by Jamieson (2014). Previous studies have focused on the extent of As contamination in soils and lakes in the region (Cheney et al, 2020;Hocking et al, 1978;Houben et al, 2016;Hutchinson et al, 1982;Jasiak et al, 2021;Palmer et al, 2021Palmer et al, , 2015, the mobility of As in aquatic environments (Andrade et al, 2010;Palmer et al, 2020a;, and biological impacts and recovery in aquatic environments (Dushenko et al, 1995;Sivarajah et al, 2020Sivarajah et al, , 2019Thienpont et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental processes that control the chemical recovery of arsenic impacted northern landscapes

Palmer¹

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Arsenic (As) is a contaminant of global concern because of its toxic and carcinogenic properties.Waste streams associated with gold mining activities have resulted in extensive As pollution of landscapes worldwide. The Yellowknife area in the Northwest Territories, Canada was contaminated by more than half a century of As-bearing atmospheric mining emissions from the roasting of arsenopyrite ore during historical gold ore processing . The environmental footprint from legacy mining emissions persists on the landscape and questions remain about the distribution and fate of As in the local environment. The principal objective of this thesis was to improve our understanding of the environmental processes that control the chemical recovery of As impacted landscapes. Individual field studies were designed to address: a) the distribution, source, and solid-phase speciation of As in Yellowknife area soils; b) the seasonal variation of As in surface waters of shallow lakes; c) the influence of contrasting winter hydrology on the geochemical cycling of As in a shallow lake; and d) the seasonal contributions of terrestrial and aquatic fluxes of As in a contaminated watershed. The combination of mineralogical, geospatial, and statistical tools provided a novel method for determination of geochemical background in soils for areas impacted by legacy mining emissions, including recent unambiguous identification of anthropogenically impacted soils. Year-round investigations of surface waters, sediments, and sediment porewaters provided new insights into seasonal and under-ice processes that influence the mobility and geochemical cycling of As. The evaluation of terrestrial and aquatic As fluxes across a contaminated watershed revealed continued transport of legacy arsenic from catchment soils to lakes, and hydrology mediated within-lake processing and export of arsenic. Thus, climate and hydrology were found to play a fundamental role in the chemical recovery of As impacted lakes.

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Section: Annual Fluxes Dominated By Regional Stream Hydrologysupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Mining Pollution Landscape Recovery and Research Justificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental processes that control the chemical recovery of arsenic impacted northern landscapes

Palmer¹

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“…Nonetheless, it has remained difficult to further address these concerns because of insufficient knowledge of pre-industrial, reference [THg]. Our study builds upon similarly designed and executed determination of trace element enrichment in sediment profiles from lakes in the AOSR (Cooke et al, 2017;Klemt et al, 2020), PAD (Kay et al, 2020) and elsewhere (e.g., Slave River Delta: MacDonald et al, 2016 andCentral Northwest Territories: Cheney et al, 2020;Jasiak et al, 2021), which have been crucial for determining pre-industrial baseline concentrations (Kay et al in review 1 ). Here, we capitalized on opportunity to measure [THg] from the same sediment cores used in the trace element 1 Kay, M. L., Jasiak, I., Klemt, W. H., Wiklund, J.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An EF of 1.0 indicates the [THg] in a specific stratigraphic interval is equivalent to the pre-industrial baseline, whereas an EF of 2.0 indicates a doubling above baseline. To quantify the magnitude of enrichment, we incorporated thresholds recommended by Birch (2017), which have been widely applied in this region and elsewhere (Kay et al, 2020, in review;Klemt et al, 2020;Owca et al, 2020;Jasiak et al, 2021;Klemt et al 2021). An EF value of ≤1.5 was considered to represent "pristine conditions" and EFs from 1.5-3.0 were considered "minimal enrichment".…”

Section: Enrichment Factor and Anthropogenic Flux Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of mercury enrichment in lake sediment records from Alberta Oil Sands development via fluvial and atmospheric pathways

Kay

Wiklund

Sun

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Exploitation of bitumen-rich deposits in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) by large-scale mining and processing activities has generated widespread concern about the potential for dispersal of harmful contaminants to aquatic ecosystems via fluvial and atmospheric pathways. The release of mercury has received attention because it is a potent neurotoxin for wildlife and humans. However, knowledge of baseline mercury concentration prior to disturbance is required to evaluate the extent to which oil sands development has contributed mercury to aquatic ecosystems. Here, we use stratigraphic analysis of total mercury concentration ([THg]) in radiometrically dated sediment cores from nine floodplain lakes in the AOSR and downstream Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) and two upland lakes in the PAD region to establish pre-1900 baseline [THg] and evaluate if [THg] has become enriched via fluvial and atmospheric pathways since oil sands mining and processing began in 1967. Concentrations of THg in sediment cores from the study lakes range from 0.022–0.096 mg/kg (dry wt.) and are below the Canadian interim sediment quality guidelines for freshwater (0.17 mg/kg). Results demonstrate no enrichment of [THg] above pre-1900 baseline via fluvial pathways at floodplain lakes in the AOSR or PAD. Enrichment of [THg] was detected via atmospheric pathways at upland lakes in the PAD region, but this occurred prior to oil sands development and aligns with long-range transport of emissions from coal combustion and other anthropogenic sources across the northern hemisphere recognized in many other lake sediment records. The inventory of anthropogenic [THg] in the upland lakes in the AOSR is less than at the Experimental Lakes Area of northwestern Ontario (Canada), widely regarded as a “pristine” area. The absence of enrichment of [THg] in lake sediment via fluvial pathways is a critical finding for stakeholders, and we recommend that monitoring at the floodplain lakes be used to inform stewardship as oil sands operators prepare to discharge treated oil sands process waters directly into the Athabasca River upstream of the PAD.

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Heavy Metal Contamination in Birds from Protected Regions in the Amazon

Loera,

Gruppi,

Swing

et al. 2024

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The extraction of crude oil and gold has substantially increased heavy metal contamination in the environment, yet the study of wildlife exposure and biological response to this pollution remains nascent even in the most biodiverse places in the world. We present a survey of heavy metal exposure in the feathers of wedge‐billed woodcreepers (Glyphorynchus spirurus), a resident neotropical bird found within protected regions of the Amazon near oil and gold extraction sites. Our results show elevated heavy metal contamination in samples collected from protected areas proximate to known oil and gold extraction. Surprisingly, several samples from remote reference sites also displayed elevated levels of various heavy metals, suggesting a background of natural deposition or complex heavy metal contamination in the environment from anthropogenic sources. These results highlight the need to understand the ecological and biological impacts of increased heavy metal exposure on wildlife across space and time, including remote regions of the world purportedly untouched by these human‐mediated stressors. Toward this goal, historical and contemporary data from native bird populations may provide crucial indicators for heavy metal contamination and exposure in wildlife and human communities. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–7. © 2024 The Author(s). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

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Evaluating spatiotemporal patterns of arsenic, antimony, and lead deposition from legacy gold mine emissions using lake sediment records

Cited by 13 publications

References 73 publications

Environmental processes that control the chemical recovery of arsenic impacted northern landscapes

Environmental processes that control the chemical recovery of arsenic impacted northern landscapes

Assessment of mercury enrichment in lake sediment records from Alberta Oil Sands development via fluvial and atmospheric pathways

Heavy Metal Contamination in Birds from Protected Regions in the Amazon

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