This study investigated As-enriched wetland at the Smolotely-Líšnice Au district (Centra Bohemia) using the combination of geochemical (soil and pore water analyses, S isotopes), mineralogical (microprobe, Raman spectrometry) and biological (DNA extraction) method. In this paper, Magda and her co-authors identified a complex assemblage of As and Fe sulfides (realgar, bonazziite, pyrite, greigite) on the fragments of natural organic matter, which play an active role (very fast microbial sulfate reduction vs. slow transfer of solutes) in arsenic immobilization in polluted wetland systems.

Knappová M., Drahota P., Falteisek L., Culka A., Penížek V., Trubač J., Mihaljevič M., Matoušek T. (2019): Microbial sulfidogenesis of arsenic in naturally contaminated wetland soil. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 267, 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.09.021

We combined elemental and isotopic studies, leaching techniques and speciation modeling to describe Cu and Pb behavior in contaminated soil profiles of Kombat, Namibia. Tailings, soils and bedrock samples were analyzed. We described pollutants’ behavior in detail for different type of soils and concluded that migration is highly dependent on soil characteristics and element speciation shown by variations, or lack thereof, in concentrations, δ⁶⁵Cu and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb values with depth.

Mihaljevič M., Baieta R., Ettler V., Vaněk A., Kříbek B., Penížek V., Drahota P., Trubač J., Sracek O., Chrastný V., Mapani B. S. (2019): Tracing the metal dynamics in semi-arid soils near mine tailings using stable Cu and Pb isotopes. Chemical Geology 515, 61-76. (DOI)

We used a multi-method approach for characterization of dust from mines and smelters in the northern Namibia. In vitro bioaccessibility testing in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) indicated that As, Pb (and also Cd to a lesser extent) exceeded tolerable daily intake limits for these contaminants in the case of slags and smelter dusts, but the exposure risk for local population is only important at the unfenced disposal sites.

The paper published in Environment International is open-access. Ettler V., Cihlová M., Jarošíková A., Mihaljevič M., Drahota P., Kříbek B., Vaněk A., Penížek V., Sracek O., Klementová M., Engel Z., Kamona F., Mapani B. (2019): Oral bioaccessibility of metal(loid)s in dust materials from mining areas of Namibia. Environment International 124, 205-215. (DOI)

A complete set of new thermodynamic data has been determined for three Al and Fe arsenate minerals: mansfieldite, angelellite and kamarizaite.

Majzlan J., Nielsen U.G., Dachs E., Benisek A., Drahota P., Kolitsch U., Herrmann J., Bolanz R., Števko M. (2018): Thermodynamic properties of mansfieldite (AlAsO₄·2H₂O), angelellite (Fe₂(AsO₄)₂O₃) and kamarizaite (Fe₃(AsO₄)₂(OH)₃·3H₂O). Mineralogical Magazine 82, 1333-1354. (DOI)

The findings of this study indicated that the historical mining village of Kaňk is highly contaminated by As, Cu, Pb, and Zn, of which As is the most significant contaminant. Despite the high concencentration of As in mining wastes (∼1.15 wt.%), urban soils (∼0.3 wt.%), and road dusts (∼ 440 mg/kg), risk was associated only with mining waste and contaminated soil material via oral exposure (not the inhalation pathway)

Drahota P., Raus K., Rychlíková E., Rohovec J. (2018): Bioaccessibility of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in mine waste, urban soil, and road dust in the historical mining village of Kaňk, Czech Republic. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 40, 1495-1512. (DOI)

The re-measurement of mercury (Hg) concentrations in archived environmental samples (soils, peats) after several years of storage indicated that there is no statistical difference between new measurements and original data. As a result, archived samples can be used to evaluate historical soil mercury contamination.

Navrátil T., Burns D. A., Nováková T., Kaňa J., Rohovec J., Roll M., Ettler V. (2018): Stability of mercury concentration measurements in archived soil and peat samples. Chemosphere 208, 707-711. (DOI)