Heavy Metals in Soil around a Typical Antimony Mine Area of China: Pollution Characteristics, Land Cover Influence and Source Identification.

ABSTRACT: To understand contamination characteristics and identify sources of heavy metals in soil affected by complex mine activities, a detailed survey of soil heavy metals from different land cover types was investigated around the Xikuangshan (XKS) antimony mine in south-central China. Soil samples had average concentrations of Sb, As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni exceeding their background level in the Hunan province. Sb, As and Cd were the main pollutants. A total of 86.8% of samples were severely polluted, characterized by the Nemerow's comprehensive index, and 68.4% of samples were of very high potential ecological risk, primarily contributed by Sb, Cd and Hg. Among different land cover patterns, Hg, Pb and Cd concentrations showed a statistically significant difference. The application of

SUBMITTER: Li X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9915987 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature