6533b835fe1ef96bd129eab2
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Toxicity of Mining-Contaminated Lake Sediments to Lumbriculus variegatus
Anna K. KarjalainenJuha KarjalainenAri VäisänenJaana Wallinsubject
Lumbriculus variegatusEnvironmental Engineeringboreal lakesBiominingmetalssedimentit010501 environmental sciencesminingmyrkyllisyys01 natural sciencesjärvetOptimum growthEnvironmental ChemistrymetallitEffluent0105 earth and related environmental sciencesWater Science and Technologybiologykaivostoimintavesien saastuminenEcological Modeling010401 analytical chemistrySedimenttoxicityrisk assessmentriskinarviointiContaminationselkärangattomatbiology.organism_classificationPollution6. Clean water0104 chemical sciencesboreaalinen vyöhyke13. Climate actionEnvironmental chemistryEnvironmental scienceSoft waterkaivosvesiHypolimnionharvasukasmadotbenthic macroinvertebratesdescription
AbstractBoreal lakes with soft water and low buffering capacity are susceptible to excess ion loading resulting from metal mining. The impact of two Finish mining sites in downstream lakes was assessed with a chronic sediment toxicity test using a laboratory-reared freshwater Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaeta). The test organisms were exposed to mining-contaminated natural lake sediments and hypolimnion water (HLW) or artificial freshwater (AFW) as overlying water in two independent experimental setups. In both test setups, growth and reproduction of L. variegatus were lower in sediments from the lakes receiving high amount of mining effluents from the mines nearby. In the biomining site, the main contaminants in the recipient lakes were the ore metals Ni and Zn, while in the lakes affected by the conventional underground mine, they were Cu and Zn. These metals accumulated in L. variegatus especially in the setup with natural HLW above the sediment. Growth and reproduction were lower in the HLW than in the AFW setup. The mining-contaminated sediments did not support optimum growth or reproduction of L. variegatus in comparison to the local reference sediments. Decline of pH in the unbuffered natural sediments brought up challenges in the assessment of metal-contaminated lake sediments with high sulfur content, and a need to develop new tools for their risk assessment.
year | journal | country | edition | language |
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2021-05-01 |