Analysis of the airborne mercury and particulate arsenic levels close to an abandoned waste dump and buildings of a mercury mine and the potential risk of atmospheric pollution

The project SUBproducts4LIFE is a research project financed by the European Union within the framework of the LIFE programme which proposes to demonstrate innovative circular economy concepts by the reuse of industrial subproducts/waste (coal ash and gypsum from coal power plants, blast furnace slag and steelmaking slag from steel factories) for the remediation at a real scale of contaminated soils and brownfield areas related to Hg mining. The area it is developing includes the waste dumps and demolition waste of the metallurgical plant of the abandoned mercury mine La Soterrana in Asturias, Northern Spain. Before this restoration research project takes place, this paper aims to evaluate airborne mercury and arsenic levels in land strongly contaminated with arsenic and mercury. The goal is to evaluate the air quality and compare it with international literature under reference levels. The study sampled gaseous mercury with a high-resolution direct reading device (LUMEX RA-915) and arsenic and mercury particulates with an IOM sampler, Casella personal pump, analyzed in the laboratory, to ensure the Health and Safety of workers, visitors and pedestrians walking near the mine and near the villages. The study concludes that As and Hg levels in the air are below 1 mu g/m(3) for the general public and villages near the mine. For works in the rubble area in the mine, it is recommended that workers use personal protective equipment and control measures are used to keep arsenic and mercury levels as low as technically possible.