Assessment of the mercury emissions from burning mining waste dumps

Abstract

One of the sources of atmospheric emission of gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons are mining waste dumps with the most intensive emission from the burning mining waste dumps. The performed analyses leave no doubts: the burning dumps are also the source of mercury emissions and, therefore, it is necessary to define the scale of this phenomenon. For a proper assessment of the environmental risk which can occur and to which the environment and local inhabitants can be exposed, it is important to define the size of the emission of mercury compounds from these objects. Despite the potential threats so far no measurements of mercury concentration which would a llow quantifying this phenomenon have been done. The analyses presented in this article fill this gap. Additionally, initial calculation of annual mercury emissions from burning coal mining waste dumps in Poland is presented.

Keywords

• coal mining waste dump
• mercury emission
• recultivation
• impact on environment