Arsenic and Antimony Contamination in a Riverine Environment Affected by an Abandoned Realgar Mine Christophe Migon(Universite Paris Villefranche-sur-mer France) Christophe Mori Antoine Orsini Ru-Cheng Tian
Toxicol Environ Chem,1995

The Presa River in Italy is highly contaminated by mining and smelting wastes from an ancient realgar mine. Water and benthic fauna samples were collected from several sites in the river and analyzed for concentrations of arsenic and antimony. The data indicated highest concentrations near the ancient mine decreasing rapidly away from the point source. Although the concentrations of Sb varied less clearly according to chlorine concentrations the two elements exhibited roughly the same chemical behavior in the estuarine zone. The accumulation of both As and Sb in the mixing zone was favored by a rich organic environment. A chemical speciation study is required to better assess the impact on coastal organisms.