Spatial distribution of heavy metals, salinity and alkalinity in soils around bauxite residue disposal area

Jie Ren; Juan Chen; Lei Han; Mei Wang; Bin Yang; Ping Du; Fasheng Li

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.149

Spatial distribution of heavy metals, salinity and alkalinity in soils around bauxite residue disposal area

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jul 1:628-629:1200-1208. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.149. Epub 2018 Feb 20.

Authors

Jie Ren¹, Juan Chen², Lei Han³, Mei Wang¹, Bin Yang¹, Ping Du⁴, Fasheng Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: duping@craes.org.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: ligulax@vip.sina.com.

PMID: 30045542
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.149

Abstract

The existence of bauxite residue disposal area (BRDA) is a serious problem in China owing to the huge quantity as well as toxicity and high alkalinity of bauxite residue. To assess the impact of uncontrolled release of bauxite residue on soil, 80 surface soil samples from areas nearby the BRDA in China, were tested to obtain the levels of heavy metals, as well as exchangeable sodium percentage, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and total alkalinity (TA). High levels of total concentrations of Cd, V, Pb, and Mo were detected in the study area, along with high pH and exchangeable Na, K, Ca, and Mg. Spatial distribution generated by Kriging interpolation of data on surface soils indicated variabilities in the concentrations of heavy metals, alkalinity, and salinity. Factor analyses confirmed the spatial distribution variance and the influence of prevailing winds. The enrichment factors of soil showed extreme enrichment of Mo, moderate enrichment of Cd and V; and high synthesis scores for soil salinization degree were noted from the eastern to southeastern region of the BRDA. This study provides a range of strategies with significant effort in planning, implementation, and monitoring activities to ensure effective dust control in BRDA management.

Keywords: Alkali; Bauxite residue disposal area; Heavy metals; Salinity; Spatial distribution.