Assessment of Trace and Rare Earth Elements Pollution in Water Bodies in the Area of Rare Metal Enterprise Influence: A Case Study—Kola Subarctic

Abstract

An extended study of the chemical composition of surface waters and lakes bottom sediments, which are affected to varying degrees by an enterprise that mines and processes rare metal ores in the Lovozero tundra, was carried out. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the content of trace elements and rare earth elements was established. Elevated concentrations of trace elements and rare earth elements were revealed in samples of water and bottom sediments of lakes receiving wastewater from the enterprise and polluted due to dusting in the tailings of the processing plant. Thus, the average content of the total REEs in the surface layers of the SR Ilma and Lovozero (at the mouth of the Sergevan River) reaches 561 and 736 mg/kg, respectively, while for the SR of Lake Krivoe this indicator was 74 mg/kg. The enrichment factor (EFi), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk index factor (Eir) and potential ecological hazard index (RI) were calculated. Assessing the total pollution with trace elements and rare earth elements of bottom sediments of lakes Ilma and Lovozero at the mouth of the Sergevan River, the value of potential ecological risk reaches values corresponding to the level of moderate ecological risk pollution (RIlma = 174, RILovozero = 186). The conducted correlation analysis made it possible to establish some of the main phases containing trace elements and rare earth elements in the bottom sediments of lakes Ilma and Lovozero.