Spatial Distribution of Heavy Metals in Different Soils Particle Size Fractions at the Deposit Site and in the Vicinity of Mkuju Uranium Mine in Tanzania
[1]
Pamela Semiono, Department of Environmental Engineering, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
[2]
Rubhera Ram Mato, Department of Environmental Engineering, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
[3]
Najat Kassim Mohamed, Department of Physics, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
[4]
Msafiri Mmamba Jackson, Department of Environmental Engineering, Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology, Musoma, Tanzania.
This study has been conducted with the aim of benchmarking the levels of selected heavy metals in different particle fractions and their spatial distribution in the soil of Mkuju River deposit area and adjacent human settlements before the commencement of uranium extraction industry in the area. The soil samples were randomly collected from these areas and measurements were undertaken for bulk and particle fractions concentrations of Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sr, Zn, Hg and Cd using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). The total concentrations of Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sr, Zn, Cd, and Hg in mg/kg; in the bulk soil samples for both sites ranged from; 153.54 - 2140.89, 23.37 - 138.74, 2.47-161.73, 6.84 - 45.2, 25.22 - 420.25, 17.78 - 356.88, 0.18 - 47.62, and 0.06-0.51 correspondingly. The dominant soil fraction size for both areas was 300-150 µm, while the finest fraction represented 13% and 12% for Mkuju River and human settlements respectively. The relatively high heavy metals concentrations were observed in fine soil fractions than coarse soil fraction, which signify potential high risk from air pollution through atmospheric dispersion, considering that fine particle are easily dispersed, and remain suspended for a long period of time as compared to coarse particles. Cr had high distribution factor of 5.33 and 3.28 for Mkuju River and human settlements respectively. The observed baseline results prior to commencement of mining activities in the study areas reveal that, most of heavy metal concentrations in the areas are within the permissible limits provided by USEPA, mean world values, Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), and that the observed heavy metals distribution characteristic is a results of natural processes.
Heavy Metals, Mkuju River, Uranium, Air Pollution
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