A new concept for antipersonnel mine (APM) detection is proposed. The detection system is based on a focused heat source and a contactless thermometer mounted on a head scanning the soil. Presence of heat capacity and diffusivity anomalies (mine candidates) is assessed from anomalies in the temperature measured after the local

Radiological hazards associated with exposure to Naturally Occurring Radionuclides Materials from gold mine tailings in the province of Gauteng in South Africa were evaluated. A comparison was made with soil samples from a control area. In this study, gamma spectroscopy was used to measure the activity concentrations of these radionuclides in 56 soil samples from the mine tailings and 10 soil s...

Mine drainage is an important environmental disturbance that affects the chemical and biological components in natural resources. However, little is known about the effects of neutral mine drainage on the soil bacteria community. Here, a high-throughput 16S rDNA pyrosequencing approach was used to evaluate differences in composition, structure, and diversity of bacteria communities in samples f...

Rhizoremediation involves the breakdown of contaminants in soil resulting from microbial activity that is enhanced in the plant root zone. The objective of this study was to assess Australian native grasses for their ability to stimulate removal of aliphatic hydrocarbons from a mine site soil. Time-course pot experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with three grass species (Cymbopogon ambigu...

Contamination of soils with heavy metals is widespread and poses a long-term risk to ecosystem health. Abandoned and active mining sites contain residues from ore-processing operations that are characterised by high concentrations of heavy metals. The distribution and mobility characteristics of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in paddy soil samples from Kočani Field (Macedonia) using ICP-...

Plant–microbial relations have not yet been fully disclosed in natural or seminatural ecosystems, nor novel ecosystems developing spontaneously on post-coal mine heaps. The aim of this study was to determine which factor, biotic (plant taxonomic diversity vs. plant functional diversity) abiotic (physicochemical substrate parameters), affects the biomass soil microbial communities most, as well ...

Rare earth mine tailing dumps are environmental hazards because tailing easily leaches and erodes by water and wind. To assess the influence of mine tailing on the geochemical behavior of rare earth elements (REEs) in soil, sixty-seven surface soil samples and three soil profile samples were collected from different locations near China's largest rare earth mine tailing. The total concentration...

In this paper, the reuse of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation of agricultural land and its effect on soil quality has been investigated in an arid region of Iran. For this purpose, two pilots of 2,000 m2 area with a variety of plants were selected near the effluent discharge of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Zahedan and Zabol cities in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The wastewater t...