Trace Elements in Sediments of Rivers Affected by Brown Coal Mining: A Potential Environmental Hazard

cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0003-0941-4798
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cris.virtual.author-orcid0000-0002-1453-0374
cris.virtualsource.author-orcidd9d8eafa-b48f-407c-b9f1-37c1d87ee515
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cris.virtualsource.author-orcid917b05fe-6da6-4828-82f0-08b7c58485fd
dc.abstract.enBrown coal remains an important energy source in Europe, including countries such as Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Greece. Open-pit mines disturb the environment in terms of air quality, hydrology, and chemical and biological transformations in rivers receiving mine waters. In the present study, we assessed the impact of mine waters from four brown coal open-pit mines on the contamination of river sediments. Chemical analysis included the quantification of 62 elements, including heavy metals (HMs) and rare earth elements (REEs). The contamination of sediments by HMs was evaluated using the contamination factor (CF), the pollution load index (PLI), and the Nemerow multi-factor index (PI). The potential toxic effects of HMs on aquatic organisms were assessed using the potential ecological risk index (PERI). Detailed analysis of chondrite-standardized concentrations of REEs was performed to describe the effects of mine water on their pattern in sediments. Cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were employed to divide study sites into groups and to evaluate the combined effect of sediment texture and site location on HMs and REEs in sediments. The study showed that after mine water discharge, there is a decrease in HM and REE concentrations in sediments. The decrease in each element’s concentration in sites located 100 m downstream of the discharge was caused by washing out of the finest fractions of sediments by mine waters.
dc.affiliationWydział Inżynierii Środowiska i Inżynierii Mechanicznej
dc.affiliation.instituteKatedra Ekologii i Ochrony Środowiska
dc.affiliation.instituteKatedra Melioracji, Kształtowania Środowiska i Gospodarki Przestrzennej
dc.contributor.authorStaniszewski, Ryszard
dc.contributor.authorNiedzielski, Przemysław
dc.contributor.authorSobczyński, Tadeusz
dc.contributor.authorSojka, Mariusz
dc.date.access2026-02-09
dc.date.accessioned2026-02-25T12:36:11Z
dc.date.available2026-02-25T12:36:11Z
dc.date.copyright2022-04-13
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>Brown coal remains an important energy source in Europe, including countries such as Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Greece. Open-pit mines disturb the environment in terms of air quality, hydrology, and chemical and biological transformations in rivers receiving mine waters. In the present study, we assessed the impact of mine waters from four brown coal open-pit mines on the contamination of river sediments. Chemical analysis included the quantification of 62 elements, including heavy metals (HMs) and rare earth elements (REEs). The contamination of sediments by HMs was evaluated using the contamination factor (CF), the pollution load index (PLI), and the Nemerow multi-factor index (PI). The potential toxic effects of HMs on aquatic organisms were assessed using the potential ecological risk index (PERI). Detailed analysis of chondrite-standardized concentrations of REEs was performed to describe the effects of mine water on their pattern in sediments. Cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were employed to divide study sites into groups and to evaluate the combined effect of sediment texture and site location on HMs and REEs in sediments. The study showed that after mine water discharge, there is a decrease in HM and REE concentrations in sediments. The decrease in each element’s concentration in sites located 100 m downstream of the discharge was caused by washing out of the finest fractions of sediments by mine waters.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.bibliographyil., bibliogr.
dc.description.financepublication_nocost
dc.description.financecost0,00
dc.description.if3,2
dc.description.number8
dc.description.points140
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume15
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/en15082828
dc.identifier.issn1996-1073
dc.identifier.urihttps://sciencerep.up.poznan.pl/handle/item/7464
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/8/2828
dc.languageen
dc.relation.ispartofEnergies
dc.relation.pagesart. 2828
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.sciencecloudnosend
dc.share.typeOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enmining
dc.subject.enbrown coal
dc.subject.enmine water drainage
dc.subject.enheavy metals
dc.subject.enrare earth elements
dc.subject.ensediments
dc.titleTrace Elements in Sediments of Rivers Affected by Brown Coal Mining: A Potential Environmental Hazard
dc.title.volumeSpecial Issue Impact of Mine Activity on Water Environment
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue8
oaire.citation.volume15