Publication details
Environmentálně rizikové chemické prvky na odkališti Brno-Hády
| Title in English | Environmental risk chemical elements on the waste dump Brno-Hády |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Geologické výzkumy na Moravě a ve Slezsku |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.5817/GVMS2021-14056 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/GVMS2021-14056 |
| Keywords | Waste dump Brno-Hády; fly ash; heavy metals; radioactive elements; microsphere; arsenic |
| Description | The studied area is located in Brno-Vinohrady. This location was used for fly ash dumping. Fly ash as a product of coal combustion was deposited here between 1967 to 1997 from the Červený mlýn and Špitálka heating plants. This material has the ability to absorb pollutants, especially heavy metals in its structures. Elevated concentrations of these elements thus represent a potential environmental risk. The main impulse to have a closer look at this waste dump and the fly ash composition is the planned building of a leisure complex in this area in the near future. The fly ash morphology was investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results proved the presence of microspheres. On their surface, heavy metals and other contaminants can be accumulated. The contents of heavy metals were determined in the studied material by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Measured values were compared with the limit values of environmental pollution published by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and with the results of previous studies from the same place. The limits were exceeded slightly at cobalt (Me = 41.62 ppm; Max = 58.30), and a lot at arsenic (Me = 380.62; Max = 593.35) The amount of arsenic was thus compared with exposure models, which were created for this location earlier. Its concentration transgressed the line of potential risk for a human organism. The number of radionuclides in analysed material by laboratory gamma-ray spectrometry (Me: K = 1.75 %, eU = 6.50 ppm, eTh = 16.75 ppm) was converted to the specific activity of 226Ra (am; Me = 212,40 Bq kg-1) and compared with the limit which is 370 Bq kg-1. This method proved that the deposited material does not contain potentially dangerous amounts of natural radionuclides. Based on the results of this study, especially on the amount of arsenic, the waste dump Brno-Hády represents a potentially dangerous location for the human organism and requires adjustments for possible future utilization as a leisure complex. |