WATER POLLUTION: HEAVY METALS

The term heavy metals refers to any metallic element that has a
relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous even at low concentration .
Heavy metals is a general collective term, which applies to the group of
metals and metalloids with atomic density greater than 4 g/cm 3 , or 5 times
or more, greater than water. However, being a heavy metal has little to do
with density but concerns chemical properties.
Heavy metals include lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), mercury
(Hg), arsenic (As), silver (Ag) chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) iron (Fe), gold(Au)
and the platinum group elements.
OCCURRENCE AND RECOVERY OF HEAVY METALS
Heavy metals occur as natural constituents of the earth crust, and are
persistent environmental contaminants since they cannot be degraded or
destroyed. To a small extent, they enter the body system through food, air,
and water and bio-accumulate over a period of time.
In rocks, they exist as their ores in different chemical forms, from which
they are recovered as minerals. Heavy metal ores include sulphides, such as
iron, arsenic, lead, lead-zinc, cobalt, goldsilver and nickel sulphides; oxides
such as aluminium, manganese, gold, selenium and antimony. Some exist
and can be recovered as both sulphide and oxide ores such as iron, copper
and cobalt.
During mining processes, some metals are left behind as tailings
scattered in open and partially covered pits; some are transported through
wind and flood, creating various environmental problems. Heavy metals are
basically recovered from their ores by mineral processing operations.
HEAVY METAL EMISSION
Heavy metals can be emitted into the environment by both natural and
anthropogenic causes. The major causes of emission are the anthropogenic
sources specifically mining operations. Anthropogenic sources of emission
are the various industrial point sources including former and present mining
sites, foundries and smelters, combustion by-products and traffics. In some
cases, even long after mining activities have ceased, the emitted metals
continue to persist in the environment.

Environmental pollution by heavy metals is very prominent in areas of

mining and old mine sites and pollution reduces with increasing distance
away from mining sites. These metals are leached out and in sloppy areas,
are carried by acid water downstream or run-off to the sea. Through mining
activities, water bodies are most emphatically polluted. The potential for
contamination is increased when mining exposes metal-bearing ores rather
than natural exposure of ore bodies through erosion and when mined ores
are dumped on the earth surfaces in manual dressing processes. Through
rivers and streams, the metals are transported as either dissolved species in
water or as an integral part of suspended sediments, (dissolved species in
water have the greatest potential of causing the most deleterious effects).
They may then be stored in river bed sediments or seep into the
underground water thereby contaminating water from underground sources,
particularly wells; and the extent of contamination will depend on the
nearness of the well to the mining site. Well located near mining sites have
been reported to contain heavy metals at levels that exceed drinking water
criteria.
Literature survey shows that heavy metals (M) at mining sites are
leached and carried by acidic water downstream. They can be acted upon by
bacterial and methyllated to yield organic forms, such as
monomethylmercury and dimethylcadmium. This conversion is effected by
bacteria in water, in the presence of organic matter, according to the
following simplified equation.
M + organic matter H2O, bacteria CH

M and (CH) M

These organic forms have been reported to be very toxic and adversely
affect water qualities by seepage to pollute underground water sources.
EFFECTS OF HEAVY METALS TO HUMAN HEALTH
The biotoxic effects of heavy metals refer to the harmful effects of
heavy metals to the body when consumed above the bio-recommended
limits.
General signs associated with cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, zinc, copper
and aluminium poisoning:

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders

Diarrhea
Stomatitis

Tremor
Hemoglobinuria causing a rustred colour to stool
Ataxia
Paralysis
Vomiting and convulsion
Depression
Pneumonia when volatile vapours and fumes are inhaled

SOME HEAVY METALS AND THEIR EFFECTS TO HUMAN HEALTH

The MCL standards for the most hazardous heavy metals (Babel and
Kurniawan, 2003).
Heavy
metal

Toxicities

MCL
(mg/L)

Arsenic

Skin manifestations, visceral cancers, vascular

disease

0.050

Cadmiu
m

Kidney damage, renal disorder, human

carcinogen

0.01

Chromiu
m

Headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting,

carcinogenic

0.05

Copper

Liver damage, Wilson disease, insomnia

0.25

Nickel

Dermatitis, nausea, chronic asthma, coughing,

human carcinogen

0.20

Zinc

Depression, lethargy, neurological signs and

increased thirst

0.80

Lead

Damage the fetal brain, diseases of the kidneys,

circulatory system, and nervous system

0.006

Mercury

Rheumatoid arthritis, and diseases of the

kidneys, circulatory system, and nervous system

0.00003

EFFECTS OF HEAVY METALS TO ENVIRONMENT

Heavy metals (HM) are natural trace components of the aquatic

environment, but their levels have been increased due to industrial wastes,
geochemical structure, agricultural and mining activities. All these sources of
pollution affect the physicochemical characteristics of the water, sediments
and biological components, thus negatively affecting the quality and quantity
of fish stocks. Environmental pollution can cause poisoning, diseases and
even death to fish and to other marine life.
When the pH in water falls,
metal solubility increases and the
metal particles become more mobile.
That is why metals are more toxic in
soft waters. Metals can become
locked up in bottom sediments,
where they remain for many years.
Streams coming from draining mining
areas are often very acidic and
contain high concentrations of
dissolved metals with little aquatic life. Both localized and dispersed metal
pollution cause environmental damage because metals are nonbiodegradable. Unlike some organic pesticides, metals cannot be broken
down into less harmful components in the environment.
TREATMENTS FOR CONTAMINATED WATER CAUSED BY HEAVY
METALS
In order to comply with regulations and ensure that the quality of water
leaving mine sites is not adversely affecting water users downstream mining
companies develop water management plans to minimize the potential for
water contamination, and to prevent the release of polluted water into the
environment.
Environmental management strategies
Awareness of environmental impacts and concern for the environment has
increased in recent decades, resulting in more stringent environmental
regulations worldwide and a corresponding response from the international
mining industry. Environmentally responsible practices, especially relating to
water, have become central to the viability and acceptance of a modern
mining operation. Water management strategies are used to minimize the
environmental impact of mining operations, and are now at the heart of mine
development, operation, and restoration activities.

Water control techniques

Water is carefully managed to prevent the release of contaminated water
into the environment. Various control techniques can be used to reduce the
potential for water contamination and minimize the volume of water
requiring treatment. These techniques include:

Intercepting and diverting surface water (rain and snowmelt runoff,

streams, and creeks) from entering the mine site by building upstream
dams to reduce the potential for water contamination from exposed ore
and waste rock
Recycling water used for processing ore in order to reduce the volume
of water requiring treatment
Capturing drainage water from precipitation at the mine site through
the use of liners and pipes and directing the water to tailings dams in
order to prevent potentially contaminated water from entering
groundwater or flowing off site
Allowing the water to evaporate in ponds to reduce the volume of
contaminated water; in dry regions, enough water may be evaporated
that no water needs to be discharged, resulting in the containment of
contaminates at the mine site
Installing liners and covers on waste rock and ore piles to reduce the
potential for contact with precipitation and contamination of
groundwater

Water treatment
There are a number of different treatment technologies available to clean
contaminated water; these technologies can be described as either active or
passive.
Active treatment technologies require the input of energy and
chemicals, and passive treatment uses only natural processes such as
gravity, microorganisms, and/or plants in a system, any one of which
requires infrequent but regular maintenance. The treatment technology
used at a mine depends on how polluted the water is, what chemicals need
to be removed, how much water requires treatment, and the required
discharge water quality standards.
Physico- chemical processes for heavy metal removal
1. Chemical precipitation- Adjustment of pH to the basic conditions
(pH 911) is the major parameter that significantly improves heavy

metal removal by chemical precipitation. Lime and limestone are

the most commonly employed precipitant agents due to their
availability and low-cost in most countries.

2. Ion exchange- is another method used successfully in the industry

for the removal of heavy metals from effluent. An ion exchanger is a
solid capable of exchanging either cations or anions from the
surrounding materials.

3. Electrolytic recovery or electro-winning- is one of the many

technologies used to remove metals from process water streams.
This process uses electricity to pass a current through an aqueous
metal-bearing solution containing a cathode plate and an insoluble
anode. Positively charged metallic ions cling to the negatively
charged cathodes leaving behind a metal deposit that is strippable
and recoverable.
4. Adsorption- is a mass transfer process by which a substance is
transferred from the liquid phase to the surface of a solid, and
becomes bound by physical and/or chemical interactions. Sorption
is transfer of ions from water to the soil i.e. from solution phase to
the solid phase. Sorption actually describes a group of processes,
which includes adsorption and precipitation reactions. . In general,

there are three main steps involved in pollutant sorption onto solid
sorbent: (i) the transport of the pollutant from the bulk solution to
the sorbent surface; (ii) adsorption on the particle surface; and (iii)
transport within the sorbent particle.
5. Membrane filtration- has received considerable attention for the
treatment of inorganic effluent, since it is capable of removing not
only suspended solid and organic compounds, but also inorganic
contaminants such as heavy metals. Depending on the size of the
particle that can be retained, various types of membrane filtration
such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis can be
employed for heavy metal removal from wastewater.
Ultrafiltration (UF) utilizes permeable membrane to separate heavy
metals, macromolecules and suspended solids from inorganic solution
on the basis of the pore size (520 nm) and molecular weight of the
separating compounds (1000100,000 Da).

6. Electrodialysis (ED)- is a membrane separation in which ionized

species in the solution are passed through an ion exchange
membrane by applying an electric potential. The membranes are
thin sheets of plastic materials with either anionic or cationic
characteristics. When a solution containing ionic species passes
through the cell compartments, the anions migrate toward the
anode and the cations toward the cathode, crossing the anion
exchange and cation-exchange membranes

Figure 12.
Electrodialysis principles (Chen, 2004). CM cation-exchange
membrane, D diluate chamber, e1 and e2 electrode chambers, AM
anion exchange membrane, and K concentrate chamber.

Water management following the closure of a mine

Mining is a transient activity, and once mining operations finish mine
closure activities are carried out to minimize the environmental impact of a
mine site. These activities can include rinsing any ore in heap leach piles to
remove any leftover chemicals, draining and capping tailings ponds with
dense clay to prevent water infiltration and groundwater contamination, and
removing or stabilizing any contaminated material on site.

SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING

MINE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

EM 421

WATER POLLUTION: HEAVY METALS

SUBMITTED BY:
VALERIO, STEPHANIE B.
DANCALAN, SHANE DANIELLE L.
GADGAD, JASPER

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. RANDOLPH TAULI

9:30- 10:30 TTHS