On alternative cost-effective approach to determining high concentrations of mobile heavy metals (on example of studies of environmental damage from mining and metallurgical waste)

This article discusses a new, simple, and inexpensive method for determining high concentrations of watersoluble forms of heavy metals using a non-destructive chemical analytical method – an X-ray fluorescence analysis. Unlike standard approaches, which employ labor-intensive and expensive acid digestion techniques (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrograhy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and atomic absorption spectroscopy) to measure pollutant concentrations in solution (requiring analysis of aqueous extracts), this method studies changes in concentrations in the solid residue of samples on filters at specific time intervals that enables the use of a more cost-effective X-ray fluorescence analysis method. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated on example of the study of copper and lead migration in man-made waste generated by the combined effects of the mining and metallurgical industries at one of the facilities in the Irkutsk region. The concentrations determined using X-ray fluorescence analysis and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrograhy are compared. The study results are shown to be completely comparable, while the labor intensity and cost of the proposed approach, as well as the qualification requirements for the personnel performing sample preparation and analysis, are significantly lower. The proposed method allows to assess the potential for toxic agent migration under various conditions – from short-term exposure to precipitation to prolonged exposure to water. The visualization results presented enable rapid categorization of samples based on the leaching behavior of water-soluble forms.

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