@article{3005259,
    title = "Acid Generation and Heavy Metal Leachability from Lignite Spoil Heaps: Impact to the Topsoils of Oropos Basin, North Attica, Greece",
    author = "Kampouroglou, E. and Kollias, K. and Stouraiti, C. and Arvaniti, L. and Papassiopi, N.",
    journal = "Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology",
    year = "2021",
    volume = "106",
    number = "3",
    pages = "465-474",
    publisher = "Springer-Verlag",
    issn = "0007-4861, 1432-0800",
    doi = "10.1007/s00128-021-03122-w",
    keywords = "Calcite;  Calcium carbonate;  Effluents;  Heavy metals;  Lignite mines;  Nickel;  Ores;  Sulfur compounds;  Tailings disposal, Environmental problems;  Geochemical maps;  Heavy metal leachability;  High sulfur contents;  Local accumulations;  Non hazardous wastes;  Oxidation of sulfides;  Regulatory limit, Lignite, coal;  heavy metal, environmental monitoring;  Greece;  mining;  soil;  soil pollutant, Coal;  Environmental Monitoring;  Greece;  Metals, Heavy;  Mining;  Soil;  Soil Pollutants",
    abstract = "The disposal of lignite spoil and tailings poses a major environmental problem in lignite mining sites which is associated with the oxidation of sulfide minerals contained in the primary ore. This process renders acidic effluents. Lignite mining in the Oropos Neogene basin, North Attica, Greece operated since the last century and ceased in the late 1960s. Piles of complex waste material are dispersed close to the mining sites. The high sulfur content and low Net Neutralization Potential, i.e. values < − 20 CaCO3 kg/t in most analyzed waste samples, indicate that the waste is prone to acid generation. The leachates (EN12457) from the lignite spoils showed high concentrations in Ni and Zn exceeding the EU regulatory limits for the non-hazardous wastes. GIS-based geochemical maps of the topsoil showed enrichment in Ni (Cr, V) associated with the regional geogenic enrichment but also local accumulation around the hot spot sites of lignite spoil heaps. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature."
}