Geochemical and microbial effects on the mobilization of arsenic in mine tailing soils

Arsenic (As) contamination has become a serious environmental problem in many countries. We have performed batch-type leaching experiments on mine tailing soils collected from three abandoned mine areas in South Korea with the objective of evaluating the effect of indigenous bacterial activity on As mobilization. The analysis of physicochemical properties and mineralogical compositions of the samples indicated that the secondary minerals or phases formed as a result of the oxidation or alteration of primary minerals were associated with the labile and bioleachable fractions of As. Compared to simulated abiotic processes using sterilization, the indigenous bacteria activated using a carbon source were able to enhance the dissolution of As under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The bacterial dissolution of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) was found to occur simultaneously with the dissolution of As, suggesting that the main bacterial mechanism was via the dissimilatory reduction of Fe(III), Mn(IV), and As(V). An anaerobic environment was more favorable for the prominent dissolution of As in the tailing soils. These results indicate that the mobilization of As can be enhanced in the oxygen-depleted part of the tailing dump, particularly with the infiltration of organic substrates. The difference in the degree of As lixiviation between the three tailing soils was found to be related to the bioavailability of As as well as the original biomass in the tailing soils.