Svirsky Dump of Arsenopyrite Concentrate and Its Impact on Water Bodies

Abstract

The geochemistry of a dry dump of arsenic production wastes and a groundwater protection zone were studied with the use of macro- and microanalysis of aqueous and hydrochloric-acid extracts. The accumulation of water-soluble forms of the microcomplex is maximal in the surface layer of the cinder dump, in sulfate-acid zone. Here, aluminosilicates suffer acid destruction. The downward motion of sulfate-iron front at a decrease in medium acidity is accompanied by gypsum formation and the hydrolysis of sulfate salts with subsequent formation of Fe, Al, and Mn hydroxides. The technogenic geochemical sorption barriers, which form in this process, ensure self-conservation of pollution source. In the protection zone, carbonate-alkaline barrier completes the immobilization process. Over the 70 years of dump existence, only a small part of its immobilization potential have been utilized. The sulfate-acid process can be suppressed through the isolation of the dump from atmospheric moistening. The vulnerability of water objects is zero. The evacuation of the dump is not required, as local reclamation is enough.