Sources and Level of Rare Earth Element Contamination of Atmospheric Dust in Nigeria

Kolawole, Tesleem O.; Olatunji, Omowunmi S.; Ajibade, Olumuyiwa Michael; Oyelami, Charles A.

doi:10.5696/2156-9614-11.30.210611

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Generally, the sources of Ga, La, Li, Rb, and Sc sources are also similar. They are either released from weathering minerals and rocks, as by-products in industrial processes, or from waste products [73][74][75][76]. The results of our study reflect the same close relationship between these metals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Multi-Metal Distribution Patterns in Soils of the Sacramento River Floodplain and Their Controlling Factors

Lotz

Opp

2022

Applied Sciences

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Metal contamination, especially in river floodplain soils, can have detrimental effects on human health. Much research has been conducted to describe the distribution patterns of metals and the factors involved in these patterns. However, most studies focus on the distribution of individual metals in soils, not on the co-occurrence of metals, and on a selection of metals associated with anthropogenic sources known to have especially severe effects; this had led to a lack of knowledge about many other metals with potentially harmful effects. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the multi-metal distribution patterns of 38 metals in the Sacramento River floodplain and find their controlling factors. We found 484 significant correlations between metal distributions. Less commonly studied metals, such as gallium, lanthanum, scandium, and vanadium, had more than 25 correlations each. In total, 13 individual metal patterns described the spatial distribution of 22 metals. Three multi-metal patterns were extracted, explaining 86.9% of the spatial variation of the individual patterns. The most important factors were the distance to specific streams due to emission and transport processes in their watersheds, and local soil properties. We conclude that multi-metal distribution patterns hold more information than individual metal patterns, contributing to the gathering of information about less commonly sampled metals and allowing more specific source identification.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Multi-Metal Distribution Patterns in Soils of the Sacramento River Floodplain and Their Controlling Factors

Lotz

Opp

2022

Applied Sciences

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“…Anthropogenic enrichment of REE has also been linked to proximity to intense agricultural practices and the application of phosphate-based fertilizers, but the enrichment of REE has also been associated with regions near to polluted sites such as large cities, e-waste dump sites, and industrial centers (Balaram 2019). Dust has also been identi ed as a major atmospheric source of REE deposition (Kolawole et al 2021). In this study, while some cores exhibited slight enrichment, we found little evidence of substantial enrichment of REE's in our global peatland dataset, and there was only one case were EF exceeded 10 suggesting any contamination is likely localized to sources or any recent increases in REE deposition are not captured in the 10-20 cm depth of peat.…”

Section: Global Metal Enrichment Patterns In Bog and Fen Peatlandscontrasting

confidence: 54%

Global Patterns of Metal and Other Element Enrichment in Bog and Fen Peatlands

Osborne,

Gilbert-Parkes,

Spiers

et al. 2024

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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Peatlands are found on all continents, covering 3% of the global land area. However, the spatial extent and causes of metal enrichment in peatlands is understudied and no attempt has been made to evaluate global patterns of metal enrichment in bog and fen peatlands, despite that certain metals and rare earth elements (REE) arise from anthropogenic sources. We analyzed 368 peat cores sampled in 16 countries across ve continents and measured metal and other element concentrations at three depths down to 70 cm as well as estimated cumulative atmospheric S deposition (1850-2009) for each site. Sites were assigned to one of three distinct broadly recognized peatland categories (bog, poor fen, and intermediateto-moderately rich fen) that varied primarily along a pH gradient. Metal concentrations differed among peatland types, with intermediate-to-moderately rich fens demonstrating the highest concentrations of most metals. Median enrichment factors (EFs; a metric comparing natural and anthropogenic metal deposition) for individual metals were similar among bogs and fens (all groups), with metals likely to be in uenced by anthropogenic sources (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Sb) demonstrating median enrichment factors (EFs) > 1.5. Additionally, mean EFs were substantially higher than median values, and the positive correlation (< 0.40) with estimated cumulative atmospheric S deposition, con rmed some level of anthropogenic in uence of all pollutant metals except for Hg that was unrelated to S deposition. Contrary to expectations, high EFs were not restricted to pollutant metals, with Mn, K and Rb all exhibiting elevated median EFs that were in the same range as pollutant metals likely due to peatland biogeochemical processes leading to enrichment of these nutrients in surface soil horizons. The global patterns of metal enrichment in bogs and fens identi ed in this study underscore the importance of these peatlands as environmental archives of metal deposition, but also illustrates that biogeochemical processes can enrich metals in surface peat and EFs alone do not necessarily indicate atmospheric contamination.

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“…Even higher REE levels were found in atmospheric dust from the city of Ibadan (Nigeria), ranging from 42.5 μg g −1 (residential) to 785 μg g −1 (industrial), with mean ΣREE levels in industrial, transportation, landfill, residential, remote areas, and local soil of 638, 283, 130, 163, 96.0, and 144 μg g −1 . The average ΣREE content in dust in industrial and transportation areas was about 4.5 and 2.0 times higher than the average ΣREE content in soil, respectively (Kolawole et al, 2021). The main sources of…”

Section: Airmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Concentrations exceeding the recommended limits set by AAQCs (2012) are often found near mining and industrial areas (Tracy and Meyerhof, 1967;Shaltout et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014;Dai et al, 2016;Wang et al, 2016;Hussein et al, 2018;Fesenko and Emlutina 2021;Kolawole et al, 2021), Table 3. For example, U concentrations of 2-200 ng m −3 have been measured within 2 km of a refinery (Tracy and Meyerhof, 1967), which exceeds the recommended limits by a factor of 6.…”

Section: Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of uranium, thorium and rare earth elements in the environment: A review

Patel

Sharma²,

Maity

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Uranium, thorium, and rare earth elements (REEs) are important strategic elements in today’s world with a range of applications in high and green technology and power generation. The expected increase in demand for U, Th, and REEs in the coming decades also raises a number of questions about their supply risks and potential environmental impacts. This review provides an overview of the current literature on the distribution of these elements in different environmental compartments. For example, the processes of extraction, use, and disposal of U-, Th-, and REE-containing materials have been reported to result in elevated concentrations of these elements in air, in some places even exceeding permissible limits. In natural waters, the above processes resulted in concentrations as high as 69.2, 2.5, and 24.8 mg L−1 for U, Th, and REE, respectively, while in soils and sediments they sometimes reach 542, 75, and 56.5 g kg−1, respectively. While plants generally only take up small amounts of U, Th, and REE, some are known to be hyperaccumulators, containing up to 3.5 and 13.0 g kg−1 of U and REE, respectively. It appears that further research is needed to fully comprehend the fate and toxicological effects of U, Th, and REEs. Moreover, more emphasis should be placed on developing alternative methods and technologies for recovery of these elements from industrial and mining wastes.

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Sources and Level of Rare Earth Element Contamination of Atmospheric Dust in Nigeria

Cited by 11 publications

References 44 publications

Multi-Metal Distribution Patterns in Soils of the Sacramento River Floodplain and Their Controlling Factors

Multi-Metal Distribution Patterns in Soils of the Sacramento River Floodplain and Their Controlling Factors

Global Patterns of Metal and Other Element Enrichment in Bog and Fen Peatlands

Occurrence of uranium, thorium and rare earth elements in the environment: A review

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