Effects of long-term application of biosolids for mine land reclamation on groundwater chemistry: trace metals.

Reclamation of high-elevation, acidic mine waste with organic amendments and topsoil.

The Summitville Mine was a high-elevation (3500 m) gold mine in southwestern Colorado. The mine was abandoned in 1992, leaving approximately 200 ha of disturbance comprised partially of an open pit, a cyanide heap leach pad, and two large waste rock piles. Reclamation of these mine facilities is challenging due to extreme climatic conditions in conjunction with high acid-production potential an...

Revegetation of a Mine Tailings Impoundment Using Municipal Biosolids in a Semi-arid Environment

Five separate test sites were established in 1994 to evaluate the use of municipal sewage sludge as a soil amendment and conditioner (hereafter referred to as “biosolids”) on the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation’s tailings impoundment near Magna, Utah. Each site was divided into 16 test plots to evaluate four replications of the four rates of biosolids addition and incorporation into the taili...

Mitigation of Climate Change through Land Reclamation with Biosolids: Carbon storage in reclaimed mine soils, life cycle analysis of biosolids reclamation, and ecosystem services with reforestation

Jeq50134 1118..1126

Mine reclamation with biosolids increases revegetation success but nutrient addition well in excess of vegetation requirements has the potential to increase leaching of NO3 and other biosolids constituents. A 3-yr water quality monitoring study was conducted on a Pennsylvania mine site reclaimed with biosolids applied at the maximum permitted and standard loading rate of 134 Mg ha. Zero-tension...

Recovery and distribution of biosolids-derived trace metals in a clay loam soil.

The long-term mobility of trace metals has been cited as a potential hazard by critics of EPA 503 rule governing the land application of biosolids. The objectives of this study were to assess the accumulation of Cu, Ni, Cd, and Zn within the soil profile; the distribution of exchangeable, specifically adsorbed, organic, and oxide fractions of each metal; and mass balance of Cu, Ni, and Zn 17 yr...