Heavy metals are persistent environmental contaminants, and wild animals are increasingly exposed to the harmful effects of compounds of anthropogenic origin, even in areas distant from industrial centers. We used atomic absorption spectrometry to determine levels of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in liver and kidney of wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) in Poland. Cd con...

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirement that all surface water bodies achieve good ecological status is still a goal for many regulatory authorities in England and Wales. This paper describes field and laboratory studies designed to identify metal contaminant loadings and their distributions within water bodies located in the Lower Lee catchment (London, UK). Water and sediment sampl...

This study examined trace metal contamination of sediments in Guiyu, China where primitive e-waste processing activities have been carried out. It was found that some river sediments in Guiyu were contaminated with Cd (n.d.-10.3mg/kg), Cu (17.0-4540mg/kg), Ni (12.4-543mg/kg), Pb (28.6-590mg/kg), and Zn (51.3-324mg/kg). The (206)Pb/(207)Pb and (208)Pb/(207)Pb ratios of the Pb-contaminated sedime...

To investigate the mobility and availability of metals from soil to plant, concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) in topsoils and plants (lettuce, scallion, celery, tomato, carambola, wampee and longan) collected from the area around a petrochemical complex in Guangzhou, China, were analyzed. The modified European Community Bureau of Ref...

Tailings dams in mining areas frequently experience the phenomenon of haphazard dumping and stacking a large amount tailings waste. Under influence surface runoff groundwater infiltration, heavy metals from waste can migrate to surrounding underground soil, resulting extensive metal pollution. To analyze pollution level ecological risk an abandoned lead–zinc mine dam, this study first employed ...

The concentrations of zinc, copper, iron, nickel, cadmium, lead, manganese, sodium and chloride in the sweat of six males and three females were determined after collections utilizing a total body washdown technique. From our results, sweat appears to be an important excretory pathway for zinc and copper. The mean concentrations of nickel and cadmium in sweat were higher than those reported for...

This study presents an analytical investigation and electrochemical conservation treatment for a group of four copper alloy artifacts excavated from the archaeological cemetery that was located on site Queen Alia International Airport, Jordan. The chemical analyses internal alloys showed bracelet spatula were made quaternary copper–zinc–tin–lead alloy, copper–silver–zinc copper–tin, bronze allo...

William J. Andrews, Jason R. Masoner, Oklahoma Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey The abandoned Picher mining district of northeastern Oklahoma was the largest source of lead and zinc in the world in the 1920s. After abandonment in the late 1960s, the district continued to be affected by severe environmental degradation, such as subsidence and metals such as cadmium and lead seeping f...

The mining and use of copper by prehistoric people on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula is one of the oldest examples of metalworking. We analyzed the concentration of lead, titanium, magnesium, iron, and organic matter in sediment cores recovered from three lakes located near mine pits to investigate the timing, location, and magnitude of ancient copper mining pollution. Lead concentrations were n...

Heavy metal contamination of soils resulting from mining and smelting is causing major concern due to the potential risk involved. This study was designed to investigate the heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) concentrations in soils and food crops and estimate the potential health risks of metals to humans via consumption of polluted food crops grown at four villages around the Dabaoshan mine, Sou...