Mayes, WM, Burke, IT, Gomes, HI et al. (4 more authors) (2016) Advances in Understanding Environmental Risks of Red Mud After the Ajka Spill, Hungary. Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy, 2 (4). pp. 332-343. ISSN 2199-3823
Abstract
In the 5 years since the 2010 Ajka red mud spill (Hungary), there have been 46 scientific studies assessing the key risks and impacts associated with the largest single release of bauxite-processing residue (red mud) to the environment. These studies have provided insight into the main environmental concerns, as well as the effectiveness of remedial efforts that can inform future management of red mud elsewhere. The key immediate risks after the spill were associated with the highly caustic nature of the red mud slurry and fine particle size, which once desiccated, could generate fugitive dust. Studies on affected populations showed no major hazards identified beyond caustic exposure, while red mud dust risks were considered equal to or lesser than those provided by urban dusts of similar particle size distribution. The longer-term environmental risks were related to the saline nature of the spill material (salinization of inundated soils) and the release and the potential cycling of oxyanion-forming metals and metalloids (e.g., Al, As, Cr, Mo, and V) in the soil–water environment. Of these, those that are soluble at high pH, inefficiently removed from solution during dilution and likely to be exchangeable at ambient pH are of chief concern (e.g., Mo and V). Various ecotoxicological studies have identified negative impacts of red mud-amended soils and sediments at high volumes (typically [5 %) on different test organisms, with some evidence of molecularlevel impacts at high dose (e.g., genotoxic effects on plants and mice). These data provide a valuable database to inform future toxicological studies for red mud. However, extensive management efforts in the aftermath of the spill greatly limited these exposure risks through leachate neutralization and red mud recovery from the affected land. Monitoring of affected soils, stream sediments, waters and aquatic biota (fungi, invertebrates and fish) have all shown a very rapid recovery toward prespill conditions. The accident also prompted research that has also highlighted potential benefits of red mud use for critical raw material recovery (e.g., Ga, Co, V, rare earths, inform), carbon sequestration, biofuel crop production, and use as a soil ameliorant.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://crea tivecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Bauxite processing residue, Bauxite residue, Environmental risk, Resource recovery, Red mud |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NERC NE/L01405X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Apr 2016 15:04 |
Last Modified: | 04 Oct 2019 11:06 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40831-016-0050-z |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s40831-016-0050-z |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:98716 |