Trace Elements in Sediments of Rivers Affected by Brown Coal Mining: A Potential Environmental Hazard

Brown coal remains an important energy source in Europe, including countries such as Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Greece. Open-pit mines disturb environment terms of air quality, hydrology, chemical biological transformations rivers receiving mine waters. In present study, we assessed impact waters from four brown open-pit on contamination river sediments. Chemical analysis included quantification 62 elements, heavy metals (HMs) rare earth elements (REEs). The sediments by HMs was evaluated using factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), Nemerow multi-factor (PI). potential toxic effects aquatic organisms were ecological risk (PERI). Detailed chondrite-standardized concentrations REEs performed to describe water their pattern Cluster (CA) principal component (PCA) employed divide study sites into groups evaluate combined effect sediment texture site location showed that after discharge, there is a decrease HM REE each element’s concentration located 100 m downstream discharge caused washing out finest fractions