Environmental Toxicity Testing in the Risk Assessment of a Metal Contaminated Abandoned Mining Site in Hungary

Abstract

A three tiered, iterative Environmental Risk Assessment methodology, including preliminary Qualitative Risk Assessment, Quantitative Hazard Assessment and Site Specific Quantitative Risk Assessment, was established to assess the environmental risk of point and diffuse pollution of mining origin at catchment scale [1]. The model site was an abandoned Pb and Zn sulphide ore mine in Gyöngyösoroszi, Toka-valley, NE Hungary [2]. The Integrated Risk Model considers the sources identified by the GIS-based (Geographical Information System) pollution map, the transport routes shown by the GIS-based flow accumulation model and the receptors of different land uses in the catchment. The site-specific quantitative risk was characterised by the Soil Testing Triad [3]. The three elements of the Triad are: physico-chemical analyses of the soil and the contaminants, the biological characterisation and ecotoxicity testing of the contaminated soil, measuring the response of single species in laboratory bioassays, the natural response of the soil microflora and plants or the dynamic response of the whole soil in microcosms. The Triad approach strongly supports the characterisation of the site specific risk as well as the selection and planning of the suitable remediation option.