Assessment of the pollution potential of a special case of abandoned sulfide tailings impoundment in Riotinto mining district (SW Spain)

This work describes a special case of pollution potential assessment applied to an abandoned sulfide tailings impoundment located in the Riotinto mining district (Huelva), near the Tinto River. Three overlapping levels of discharged tailings were recognized in the impoundment, from deeper to upper: pale yellow to white, red, and brownish-yellow. Mineralogical, physical, and chemical characteristics of tailings, water leachates, water, and sulfate efflorescent salts were analyzed. The total toxic element content and the leachate concentration were respectively used to calculate two indices that support potential toxicity assessment: the Index of Contamination (IC) and the Hazard Average Ratio (HAQ). According to the IC values, all tailings samples showed a high potential for contaminating soils and sediments, especially the intermediate tailings with up to As (8.6 g kg−1), Pb (14.8 g kg−1), and Cu (1 g kg−1). Deeper tailings leachate was extremely saline and acidic, with a very high concentration of sulfates and toxic elements, exceeding the values: 2600, 980, 30, and 17 mg L−1 for SO4, Fe, Al, and Cu, respectively. For this reason, these deeper tailings were linked to the saline and acid seepage, and also to the sulfate acid efflorescences formed at the dike toe. In conclusion, the studied abandoned tailings impoundment is related with a high likelihood of polluting the environment, represented by very high IC and HAQ values. However, when the Tinto River is considered the receiving water body, the severity of the potential contamination must be judged as very low.