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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 142-154.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2024.00106

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Pollution characteristicsecological risk assessmentand source analysis of heavy metals in the coal mining areas of HamiXinjiangChina

Zelong Li1,2(), Gen Wang1(), Yongli Wang3, Zhifu Wei1, Ting Zhang1, Xueyun Ma1, Xiaomei Zhang1,2, Jianzhen Chen1,2, Baoxiang Wu1, Yingqin Wu1, Xiaoguang Qin3   

  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Exploration and Evaluation,Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    2.University of Chinese Academy of Science,Beijing 100049,China
    3.State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution,Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China
  • Received:2024-10-17 Revised:2024-11-27 Online:2025-03-20 Published:2025-01-13
  • Contact: Gen Wang

Abstract:

The development of energy and mineral resources often leads to varying degrees of pollution in the regional ecological environment. Evaluating the status and sources of heavy metal pollution in typical coal mining areas can provide valuable insights for soil pollution prevention and the construction of green mines. This study measured the concentrations of ten metal elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe) in water, vegetation and soil samples collected from typical coal mining areas and their surrounding regions in Hami. The spatial distribution and concentration levels of these metals were systematically analyzed using pollution indexes, the Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index, the Geo-accumulation Index and the Potential Ecological Risk Index. This study assessed the degree of heavy metal pollution and potential ecological risk in the soil of the typical coal mining area in the Hami. Multivariate analysis and the postive matrix factorization (PMF) model were used to identify potential pollution sources of soil heavy metal pollution. The results indicated that the enrichment of heavy metals varied across different mining areast. The pollution indexes and Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index revealed that As, Cu and Zn had the highest levels of enrichment in the study area. According to the Geo-accumulation Index, all the elements were generally at the unpolluted level. Additionally, our results implied that As, Co and Cu were the dominant contributors to ecological risk in the region, accounting for over 77% of the total cumulative risk. Multivariate analysis and the PMF model identified the primary sources of soil heavy metals as a mix of natural factors and transportation (34.57%), industrial discharge (18.39%), soil-forming parent materials (18.24%), transportation (16.67%) and mining activities (12.13%).

Key words: energy and mineral exploitation, heavy metals, pollution characteristics, ecological risk, source analysis

CLC Number: