US EPA

1016597 

Journal Article 

Impact of pollution caused by uranium production on soil macrofauna 

Gongalsky, KB 

2003 

Yes 

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
ISSN: 0167-6369
EISSN: 1573-2959 

89 

2 

197-219 

English 

14632090 

10.1023/a:1026031224658 

WOS:000185661800005 

Thirty years of mining and milling activities of the Priargunsky Mining-Chemical Production Company (South-Eastern Siberia, Russia) have resulted in an enrichment of uranium in adjacent steppe soils by a factor of up to 600. A number of attendant pollutants (thorium, arsenic and heavy metals) also have high concentrations in the soil. To estimate the effects of this pollution on soil-living macroinvertebrates, pitfall trapping and core sampling were applied. The element composition of four beetle species was analysed. Soil macroinvertebrates had 3-37 times lower abundance and biodiversity at the contaminated sites compared with the control. Ground beetle communities at the contaminated sites were reduced compared to the control site. The concentrations of uranium and arsenic in beetles collected at the contaminated sites were 2-41 and 2-26 times higher, respectively, than at the control site. There is strong evidence that the contamination caused by uranium production has severe negative biological effects on important groups of the soil food web. 

accumulation; arsenic; Carabidae; heavy metals; macrofauna; soil; uranium