Analysis of mercury content inside mining waste dump – case study in the Upper Silesia in Poland

Mercury is ranked third on the Substance Priority List, an index of substances determined to pose the most significant potential threat to human health compiled by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This element is activated with the extraction of hard coal and accumulated in the natural environment or re-emitted from the waste deposited on dumping grounds. So far, studies on mercury content have focused on the analysis of the dumps surface and the adjacent areas. In this paper, the detection of mercury content inside mining waste dumping grounds was analysed. The recognition of mercury content in the profile of the mining waste dump is important in terms of the dismantling of the facility. The dismantling may pose a risk of environmental pollution with mercury due to the possibility of increased fire risk, re-emission, and the transfer of xenobiotics to another place. In this paper, the study of mercury content in the mining waste dump profile was presented. The research demonstrated that there is no significant relationship between the mercury content and the sampling depth. The mercury content in the mining waste was determined based on the rank and origin of hard coal only. Therefore, intensive efforts should be undertaken to identify the environmental hazards arising from the dismantling of mining waste dumps and to adopt measures to prevent these hazards.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MEiN, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2022-2023)