The challenges of sustainability in mining regions: The coal mining region of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Throughout history, mining communities have invariably found themselves striving for a good quality of life and a long‐term future. In the 21st century, problems of maintaining the economic vitality of mining regions are now compounded by concerns about the biophysical integrity of the local environment. In regions of the world where the economic viability of the resource is marginal and achieving a reasonable quality of life is a daily struggle, sustainable mining may seem to be a dubious prospect at best. Yet the twin imperatives of global political forces and burgeoning environmental concerns are requiring industry, governments and other interests to re‐conceptualize the way in which mining takes place in communities. Although mining itself may not be seen as an industry that contributes to the achievement of environmental objectives, it could — with careful planning — be used as a tool to foster a more sustainable and healthier community. This argument is considered in the context of the coal mining region of Santa Catarina, Brazil.     

The dynamics of artisanal and small-scale mining reform

Artisanal and small‐scale mining are activities that have long been established in many developing countries, employing millions of people globally, either directly or in affiliated industries. Also, such activities are deplored for their adverse environmental impacts and their general avoidance of governments, tax collectors and other regulators. Decades of work have gone into addressing these problems, but with limited overall progress in evidence. Going back to some of the key dynamic relationships involved in artisanal mining and small‐scale mining, the need for policy reform that gives consistent and effective incentives is argued to be the foundation on which other discussions about environmental protection, sustainability and livelihoods can be built.     

A new economic instrument for financing accelerated landfill aftercare

The key aspects of landfill operation that remain unresolved are the extended timescale and uncertain funding of the post-closure period. This paper reviews the topic and proposes an economic instrument to resolve the unsustainable nature of the current situation. Unsustainability arises from the sluggish degradation of organic material and also the slow flushing of potential pollutants that is exacerbated by low-permeability capping. A landfill tax or aftercare provision rebate is proposed as an economic instrument to encourage operators to actively advance the stabilization of landfilled waste. The rebate could be accommodated within existing regulatory and tax regimes and would be paid for: (i) every tonne of nitrogen (or other agreed leachate marker) whose removal is advanced via the accelerated production and extraction of leachate; (ii) every tonne of non-commercially viable carbon removed via landfill gas collection and treatment. The rebates would be set at a level that would make it financially attractive to operators and would encourage measures such as leachate recirculation, in situ aeration, and enhanced flushing. Illustrative calculations suggest that a maximum rebate of up to ～€50/tonne MSW would provide an adequate incentive.     

Influence of the geomembrane on time-lapse ERT measurements for leachate injection monitoring

Leachate recirculation is a key process in the operation of municipal waste landfills as bioreactors. To quantify the water content and to evaluate the leachate injection system, in situ methods are required to obtain spatially distributed information, usually electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). However, this method can present false variations in the observations due to several parameters. This study investigates the impact of the geomembrane on ERT measurements. Indeed, the geomembrane tends to be ignored in the inversion process in most previously conducted studies. The presence of the geomembrane can change the boundary conditions of the inversion models, which have classically infinite boundary conditions. Using a numerical modelling approach, the authors demonstrate that a minimum distance is required between the electrode line and the geomembrane to satisfy the good conditions of use of the classical inversion tools. This distance is a function of the electrode line length (i.e. of the unit electrode spacing) used, the array type and the orientation of the electrode line. Moreover, this study shows that if this criterion on the minimum distance is not satisfied, it is possible to significantly improve the inversion process by introducing the complex geometry and the geomembrane location into the inversion tools. These results are finally validated on a field data set gathered on a small municipal solid waste landfill cell where this minimum distance criterion cannot be satisfied.     

矿区植被恢复方式对土壤微生物和酶活性的影响

矿区废弃地生态退化形势严峻,生态修复已成为矿区可持续发展的主要措施,土壤微生物和酶活性可作为评价土壤恢复质量的敏感因子.本研究将以山西省安太堡煤矿复垦区作为对象,分析植被恢复方式对土壤微生物和酶活的影响.结果表明,不同植被方式对土壤理化特征、参与氮代谢的3类菌群(固氮菌、硝化细菌和反硝化细菌)和4种酶活性(蔗糖酶、过氧化氢酶、脲酶和多酚氧化酶活)均有显著影响.土壤总氮含量与固氮菌和硝化细菌数量均显著相关,而与反硝化细菌不相关.多酚氧化酶活性与有机碳和总氮含量之间为负相关,而其它3种酶与有机碳和总氮之间呈正相关.通过主成分分析计算综合肥力指标,刺槐-油松混交林土壤综合肥力指标最高,而未复垦综合肥力指标最低.可见,刺槐-油松混交林是晋西北干旱区矿区复垦较为适宜的植被恢复模式.     

微生物对汞矿区农田土壤汞甲基化的影响

为研究典型汞矿区农田土壤中汞的甲基化作用,实验以受汞污染的旱田土壤和稻田土壤为对象,分别进行灭菌,促进硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)活性处理,抑制SRB活性处理以及促进铁还原菌(FeRB)活性处理,分析非微生物作用和微生物作用对土壤甲基汞(MeHg)生成的影响.结果表明,促进SRB活性处理的土壤MeHg生成量最高,其中旱田土MeHg增量为0.15~0.38μg·kg~(-1),稻田土壤MeHg增量为1~2μg·kg~(-1);抑制SRB活性处理和促进FeRB活性处理的MeHg增量较小,最高值仅为0.025μg·kg~(-1).相比于旱田土壤,稻田土壤具有更高的汞甲基化能力,其MeHg生成量是旱田土壤的4~9倍.土壤SRB数量与MeHg生成量具有相同的变化趋势,二者具有显著的正相关性(R~2=0.57,P0.01).因此,该研究区土壤汞甲基化作用主要是微生物汞甲基化作用,且主要的汞甲基化细菌是SRB.此外,稻田是农田中MeHg生成的活跃地区,在评估和控制MeHg对人体健康危害时需要重点关注.     

中国铀矿冶放射性污染防治"十三五"规划思路研究

首先从放射性废水、废石及尾矿、放射性废气、运输、退役及辐射环境管理等六个方面介绍了中国铀矿冶三废处理现状,分析了中国铀矿冶在放射性污染防治方面所存在的辐射安全状况依然严峻、环境保护技术滞后、退役治理存在较明显的局限性与片面性、铀矿冶标准体系有待完善、地下水污染与控制措施及其研究不够等问题,最后对"十三五"中国铀矿冶放射性污染防治提出了加快铀矿冶退役治理进程、加强铀矿冶废水处理技术研究工作、进一步加强铀矿山井下辐射防护工作、加快铀矿冶退役治理工程长期监护机制的出台、全面梳理铀矿冶法规标准体系的建议,以期为中国铀矿冶领域放射性污染防治提供科学的和系统的工作思路.     

湘中矿区不同用地类型面源Cd输出负荷的原位实验研究

受污染土壤重金属随降雨径流输出已成为河流、湖泊等水体重金属超标的主要来源之一,近年来日益受到关注.研究表明湘江中下游农田土壤重金属超标问题日益严峻,以镉超标最为严重.研究以湘中矿区Cd超标农业小流域为实验场,选取流域内水稻、旱田、荒草地这3类土地利用模式设置径流小区进行自然降雨水文过程的原位观测.结果表明,雨水pH值由春季到夏季呈升高趋势,径流水相溶解态Cd浓度呈明显的季节性差异,春季显著高于夏季,雨水pH值可显著影响土壤溶解态Cd向径流水相迁移,与径流水相溶解态Cd浓度呈负相关关系.相同降雨条件下,稻田径流水相溶解态Cd浓度显著低于旱田和荒草地,旱田与荒草地Cd面源输出负荷显著高于水稻田,由于降雨量差异,3类土地利用类型溶解态Cd面源输出负荷的季节性规律不明显.本研究可为流域尺度重金属面源输出负荷定量估算以及湘江流域水环境安全与水质预警提供数据支持和科学依据.     

矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护战略研究

本文在收集大量数据资料基础上,阐述了我国矿产资源特征与开发现状,论述了我国主要矿山地质环境问题及其危害,深刻剖析了产生诸多矿山地质环境问题的根源,提出了矿产资源可持续开发利用与矿山环境保护的对策建议。为促进矿产资源开发与矿山环境保护协调发展提供参考。     

江苏省沛县采煤塌陷地复垦治理中存在的问题及对策探讨

沛县是国家重要优质煤生产基地,煤炭产业为沛县经济发展和城市建设作出了重要贡献,但由煤炭采掘带来的土地塌陷冲击着脆弱的土地资源,使人地矛盾更加突出。近年来,沛县在采煤塌陷地复垦工作中取得了一定的成绩,从中也发现了制约复垦的相关问题,文章通过对存在问题进行了分析,并从政策和技术上提出了解决对策。