US EPA

771101 

Journal Article 

Dispersion and toxicity of metals from abandoned gold mine tailings at Goldenville, Nova Scotia, Canada 

Wong, H 

1999 

1 

Science of the Total Environment
ISSN: 0048-9697
EISSN: 1879-1026 

228 

1 

35-47 

10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00021-2 

WOS:000080091200004 

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969799000212
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As its name indicates, Goldenville was a famous gold mining area in Nova Scotia where large quantities of mercury were used in the gold recovery process. It is estimated that the 3 million tons of tailings left from the mining activities which lasted from 1860 to 1945 contain 470 kg of Cd, 37 300 kg of Pb, 6800 kg of Hg, 20 700 kg of As and 2600 kg of Tl. Analysis of metal contents of stream water, stream and lake sediments, tailings, and vegetation show that the tailings have been distributed over time across the stream basin to form a tailing field of approximately 2 km(2). There is a continuous release of As, Hg, Pb, Tl and other metals from the tailing field, resulting in contamination of ecosystems downstream including the Gegogan Harbor of the Atlantic Ocean. Stream water and sediments of Lake Gegogan located downstream from the mine were found toxic to the benthic community. A loss of fish habitat was observed. Although the mines were closed over 50 years ago, sedimentary records of metal loadings into Lake Gegogan show that the release of metals from the tailings has not slowed down. Analysis of metal tolerant species in the area suggests that horsetails (Equisetum rubiaceae and E. sylvaticum) can be used in phytoremediation of sites contaminated with arsenic and mercury. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. 

phytoremediation; metal pollution; gold mining; mercury amalgamation; toxicity