Ancient Mining and Metallurgy as the Origin of Cu, Ag, Pb, Hg, and Zn Contamination in Soils: A Review
2021
Asare, Michael Opare | Afriyie, Jerry Owusu
The socio-economic needs of ancient societies before the onset of the industrial revolution thrived the exploitation of metals, with resultant adverse effects on the chemical signatures of soils. So far, there are no studies that summarize the contamination of soils by metals due to mining and metallurgy before the industrial revolution (c. 1800 century AD). The article presents an overview of soil contamination by metals due to ancient (prehistory up to the end of medieval period) mining and metallurgy, the global distribution of metal exploitations, the effects on soils and lives, as well as their speciation and bioavailability. The study established that the concentrations of Cu, Ag, Pb, Hg, and Zn were substantially higher in the soils affected by ancient mining and metallurgy in comparison to background values, eventually causing harm to ecosystems after centuries without mining and metallurgy. The concentrations of the metals subsequently are bioaccumulated in recent fields. Understanding the persistence, distribution, and bioavailability of the metals is pertinent in selecting suitable remediation techniques for contaminated soils from ancient mining and metallurgy sites. Even after centuries without mining and metallurgy in ancient sites, the long-term fate of metal contaminations in soils is detectable. The still-unsolved question is the level of metals available and releasable from the total content to plants, especially on arable fields of previous mining and metallurgy sites and their surroundings. Contemporary effects of past mining and metallurgy on contamination of soils provide relevant information on the current and future implications of recent metalliferous activities.
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