Giuseppe BUCCHERI¹, Peter ANDRÁŠ Jr.^2,3, Peter ANDRÁŠ^1,2, Jana DADOVÁ² & Jiří KUPKA^2
1Faculty of Science, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia; peter.andras@umb.sk
²Faculty of Mining and Geology, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu, 15, 708 33, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic; jana.ruskova72@gmail.com
³State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Tajovského ul. 28B, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia; paand4@gmail.com

HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION AND ITS IMPACT ON PLANTS AT CAPORCIANO Cu-MINE (MONTECATINI VAL DI CECINA, ITALY)

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This article reports an environmental study concerning the abandoned Caporciano copper mine in Montecatini Val di Cecina. The environmental matrices (water, soil, dump sediments, plants) of the studied mining sites were investigated in order to evaluate its environmental status. The heavy metals mobilization can cause contamination of country components. Our attention was focused on heavy metal content in the studied environmental matrices. Concentration values which we found out by laboratory analyses were also compared with concentration limits provided by Italian law (L.D. 152/06) as far as soil and water are concerned. Acidification potential of dump sediments and soils from the dump was also studied. The acidification risk seems to be negligible. The bioconcentration factor (BIF <1) and translocation factor (TF in average 4.063 for Pinus sp. and 3.340 for Quercus sp.) of the heavy metals in the studied plants indicate that the plants are excluders. Also the enrichment factor (EF) is not very high. The highest EF value was calculated for Cd in Pinus sp. (in average 42.59), while for Mn, Pb and Cu in Quercus sp. (EF = 8.10, 8,00, 8.23 in average). The lowest EF shows Cd in Quercus sp. (1.19 in average).