@article{10272/23140,
year = {2011},
month = {9},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23140},
abstract = {Metal contamination from acid mine drainage (AMD) is a serious problem in the southwest of the Iberian
Peninsula, where the Iberian Pyrite Belt is located. This zone contains original sulfide reserves of about
1700 Mt distributed among more than 50 massive sulfide deposits. Weathering of these minerals releases to
the waters significant quantities of toxic elements, which severely affect the sediments and surface waters of
the region. The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the toxicity and the potential risk associated with the
mining areas using Microtox test and different factors which assess the degree of contamination of the
sediments and waters. For this, a natural stream polluted by AMD-discharge from an abandoned mine has
been studied. The results show that elevated concentrations of Cu, As and Zn involve an important potential
risk on the aquatic environment, associated both with sediments and waters. Microtox test informs that the
sediments are extremely or very toxic, mainly related to concentrations of Fe, As, Cr, Al, Cd, Cu and Zn.
Pollution is mainly transferred to the sediments increasing their potential toxicity. A natural creek affected by
AMD can store a huge amount of pollution in its sediments while exhibiting a not very low water pH and low
water metal concentration.},
organization = {This study has been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science through projects CTM2005-07282-C03-C01/TECNO, CTM2008-06344-C02-C02/TECNO, CTM2008-06344-C02-C03/TECNO and CGL2010-21956-C02-02. A.M.S. was financially supported by the postdoctoral position within the Juan de la Cierva program of the Spanish Government. The comments and helpful criticisms of the Reviewers and the assistance and support of the Executive Editor, Dr. John G. Farmer, have considerably improved the quality of the original manuscript and are gratefully acknowledged.},
publisher = {Elsevier},
title = {Toxicity and potential risk assessment of a river polluted by acid mine drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain)},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.07.043},
author = {Miguel Sarmiento, Aguasanta and Valls Casillas, Tomás Ángel del and Nieto Liñán, José Miguel and Salamanca Marín, María José and Caraballo Monge, Manuel Antonio},
}