Overbank Sediments and Attic Dust

Formation of overbank sediments

• Overbank sediments (also called alluvial soils, floodplain sediments or levee sediments)
occur along streams with variable water discharge.
• In flooding streams, the temporarily enhanced discharge may exceed the amounts that
can be contained within the normal channel.
• Material in suspension will then be transported onto floodplains and levees, where it
may be laid down and accumulated, especially during the latest phases of flooding.
 Formation of overbank sediments
• In most streams, this process has taken place many times in the past.
• Overbank deposits, therefore, consist of successive nearly horizontal strata of young
sediments overlaying older sediments.
• A vertical section through such a deposit reflects the history of sedimentation back
through time.
 Formation of overbank sediments
• During floods, the great quantity of water activates many sediments sources and the
material in suspension will reflect the composition of these and earlier developed
sources.
• A composite sample consisting of many layers of overbank sediments would represent
large parts of—or even complete—catchments.
• In most cases, deposits of overbank sediment contain mainly natural material
throughout.
• In some situations anthropogenic material may have polluted the most recent layers.
• In some occurrences of overbank sediments, the stratigraphy may be complex due to re-
deposition of material eroded from earlier formed upstream deposits.
• Young sediments may then be intermixed with older sediments.
Vertical variations in the chemical composition of overbank sediments
• Vertical trends in the chemical composition of overbank sediments have two origins:
• variations in the composition of the original source material - caused by time variations of the
most active sediment sources as well as the intensity of flooding,
• alterations caused by secondary migration of substances after deposition - due to system
features such as climate, pH, reduction/oxidation conditions, amounts and type of organic
material, biological activities and time.
• These last factors are the same as those found to govern the dispersion of elements in
soils and lake sediments.
• In many climates soil formation processes may need hundreds of years in order to
develop significant vertical patterns.
• For overbank sediments the available time intervals are normally more restricted,
because new sediments are occasionally deposited on top of the older ones.
• Distributions of mobile elements such as Cd could be exceptions, because of their high
solubility.
Vertical variations in the chemical composition of overbank sediments

• Three main groups of vertical distribution patterns were distinguished in the

sections:

• (1) either low or high metal concentrations throughout the profile. This is
thought to reflect a generally low or high natural metal content in the
catchments,

• (2) a gradual increase in heavy metal concentrations towards the top of the
profile. Such patterns are presumably caused by airborne pollution,

• (3) abrupt changes in metal concentrations at certain depths and a

corresponding change in lithology - interpreted as being an effect of man-made
discharges into the catchments.
Vertical variations in the chemical composition of overbank sediments

• Most profiles show high Cu and

Mo contents in the upper
section.

• About 30% of the Cu content in

the upper layers appears to be
removed by dissolution or cation
exchange and re-precipitated in
the middle of the section.

• the sharp decrease of Mo

concentrations below the upper
layers, indicates that vertical
migration of Mo is negligible.
Complex stratigraphy due to combined vertical and lateral processes
• Within floodplains the natural lateral variations in the composition of overbank sediment
seem to be small.
• Fluvially transported mine tailings may be incorporated in alluvial sediments in three
different ways:
• (1) Along single thread, laterally stable channels, tailings are mainly accumulated as
overbank sediments on the floodplains. Thus, young sediments overlay older
sediments.
• (2) In single thread, meandering rivers. In this case floodplain deposits become
younger towards the margins of the channel.
• (3) In rivers where mine tailings are discharged into the channel, This results in a
complex floodplain stratigraphy.
• Variations in the composition of overbank sediments may be so complicated.
• A single overbank profile very rarely spans the period from before anthropogenic
disturbance through the Industrial Revolution and later.
Complex stratigraphy due to combined vertical and lateral processes

• Pollution of overbank sediments may be of two types:

• (1) Mine wastes and other anthropogenic material may enter the stream from
local sources and then be transported downstream.

• (2) Airborne contaminants originating from distant sources may reach the
catchments.

• In both cases (1) and (2) the contaminants may be confined to the surface layers of
the overbank sediments.

• Downward percolation of soluble surface pollutants may also contaminate the

sediments at depth.
Potentially contaminating trace element contents

• Trace element concentrations associated with solid compounds depend on both

environmental factors such as pH or ionic strength and on particle composition
and structure.

• The impact of anthropogenic pollution within environmental compartments can

be estimated using various methods including those based on the calculation of
enrichment factors, EF.

• This common approach compares the normalized metal concentration in the

sample to a reference material free of any source of contamination and
representative of the geological background

• The normalization is made to Al which is widely used because this element is

considered to act as a “proxy” of the clay content, generally representative of the
finest and more efficient fraction for element sorption.
Chronology of sedimentation
• The identification of sequences is based on several ndicators such as lithofacies, erosional
unconformities, or presence of plant remains at the top of the layers.

• 210Pband 137Cs are widely used for dating recent sediment deposits (less than 100 years)
because of their respective half-life of 22.3 and 30.2 years.

• 210Pb is a naturally occurring radionuclide produced by 222Rn decay in the atmosphere, and
222Rn decay that occurs in the sediment.

• Dating using is commonly employed for lake sediments where inputs of 210Pb bearing
particles are continuous.

• For riverbanks or floodplains an average long-term rate of sedimentation can be estimated

by taking into account that 137Cs and 210Pb accumulate within accreting overbank
sediment deposit by direct atmospheric fallout but also by deposition of suspended
sediment.

• 137Cs is an anthropogenically-derived radionuclide: 1954, 1963, 1986

Chronology of sedimentation
• Use of radionuclides (210Pb and 137Cs) contributes in the following items:

• Age of sediment layers.

• Number of flooding events

• The mean apparent sedimentation rate.

• Temporal trends of trace metals.

• Anthropogenic enrichment factor (AF) approach consists of comparing the element

concentrations within the various layers encountered among a sedimentary profile with the
upper most superficial layer of the sediment core:
 The anthropogenic impact of the heavy metals produced and released from the Elbasani metallurgical
complex into soils, dust, actual stream and overbank sediments was determined by comparing their minimum,
mean and maximum element concentrations with the natural local backgrounds.

Higher
Higher pollution
pollution

Lower Lower
pollution pollution
Atmospheric Dust
• Dust is a generic term used to describe fine particles (referred to as particulate matter -
PM) that are suspended in the atmosphere. These particles vary in size and density.

• Particles may be emitted naturally or have an anthropogenic origin. The main problem
of pollution represents anthropogenic sources.

• According to the origin and specific characteristics particles differ in size, mass, density,
morphology, chemical composition and have various chemical and physical properties.

• Atmospheric dust particles can be primary or secondary according to their origin and
formation process.

• The chemical composition of tropospheric particles includes inorganic ions, different

metals, elemental carbon, organic compounds and crustal substances.
Dust deposition
• Dust deposition is therefore measured using simple passive devices (dry, wet, sticky
sampling devices).

• Deposition is the process by which aerosol particles collect or deposit themselves on

solid surfaces and thus decreasing the concentration in the air.

• The rate of deposition or the deposition velocity is faster for particles of a large size.

• According to the process of deposition two different types of deposition exist - dry and
wet.

• Dry deposition is caused by gravitational sedimentation, interception, impaction,

diffusion or Brownian motion, turbulence and other processes.

• Wet deposition includes some atmospheric phenomena which scavenge aerosol

particles rain, snow, fog, cloud, dew formation and washout the atmosphere.
Heavy Metals (Dust) Emission
• There are many sources and release mechanisms for dust into the environment.
• The main sources for releasing the pollutants are the extraction, concentration and
separation of waste in the open.
• Fine dust generated during blasts and excavation of mining minerals is distributed in air
by the winds.
• Dust and fumes may contain toxic metals in fine particle size and as such are a potential
environmental and health hazard.
• Some of the activities that generate dust with high heavy metals content and disperse it
in air include:
• Movement of waste to and from the facilities
• Storage of waste (under certain conditions) on the facility.
• the handling and processing of the waste materials
• wind scouring of waste surfaces
Heavy Metals (Dust) Emission

• An alternative approach is to use exposed attic dust, because over long periods of time
atmospheric particles can accumulate, providing a record of historical local deposition.
• The determination of historical emissions is based on the data of heavy metals
concentration in the attic dust from different measurement sites of the weight of total
monthly air deposit.
• Undisturbed attic dusts are potential archive for atmospherically deposited particles
and have been shown to be effective across urban areas and in the vicinity of smelters,
mines and other potentially emission sources.
Heavy Metals (Dust) Deposition

• According to the process of deposition particles can be deposited at the earth's surface
in two ways, dry deposition or wet deposition.

• Dry deposition is characterized by direct transfer of gas phase and particulates from air
to ground, vegetation, water bodies and other Earth surfaces.

• This transfer can occur by sedimentation, impaction, and diffusion to surfaces or in case
of plants by physiological uptake.

• On the other hand, wash out is the process by which pollutants are removed from the
atmosphere by being absorbed in or desorbed on water droplets.

• If two particles in air collide they tend to adhere to each other due to their attractive
surface forces.
Attic dust
• Attic dust is derived primary from external sources through aerosol deposition and as a
result of soil dusting, and less from household activities

• Atmospheric pollution with heavy metals is a global process, which is initiated by the world
technology progress and human exploitation of natural resources.

• Mining works have significant influences on this occurrence, because of the direct
exposition of metal to the atmosphere.

• Atmospheric emissions attributed to the extraction stage of mining come mainly from the
action of wind on disturbed land and stockpiles of ore and waste material. As a result of
these processes, dust is permanently introduced into the atmosphere.

• In addition, the smelter are an important source of attic dust containing significant
quantities of heavy metals.

• Samples of attic dust were examined as historical archives of mine emissions, with the aim
of elucidating the pathways of pollution.
Heavy metals in Attic dust
• Significant emission sources contribute to atmospheric pollution with heavy metals.

• Heavy metals is the term applied to a large group of trace elements which are both
industrially and biologically important and have an atomic density greater than 5 g/cm3.

• Emissions of heavy metals into the environment happen through several processes. The
emission of heavy metals into the atmosphere is one of the greatest threats to human
health.

• People are directly exposed to the effects of heavy metals through inhalation of
airborne micro particles from atmospheric dust.

• Exposure to heavy metals is possible if there is a coexistence of heavy metals and

people.

• Exposure is usually defined as a function of the pollutant content and time, i.e., that it is
"an appearance achieved by direct contact between humans and the environment with
the pollutant content in a given interval of time"
Heavy metals in Attic dust
• Air pollution with heavy metals is a global process that affects every part of the globe.

• Rapid increases of heavy metal concentrations in the atmosphere and environment are
commonly coupled to the development of exploitative technologies.

• Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals is the main subject of many studies and usually
occurs in industrialized areas, in places where exploitation and processing of natural
resources (oil, ore, etc.) are performed, in areas with large population centers where
traffic and municipal waste are the main sources of metals, etc.

• Heavy metals in the atmosphere originated mainly from dust dispersion from metal
refining, fossil fuel combustion, vehicle exhausts, and other human activities and stay in
the atmosphere until they are removed by a variety of cleansing processes.

• Particular emphasis is given on ore deposits, mining, and smelter plants as significant
anthropogenic sources of dust.
PBCs and dioxin/furans in Attic dust

• Samples of settled attic dust may contain PCBs and dioxins/furans.

• Dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are the abbreviated
names for a family of chemicals that have similar toxicity and shared chemical
characteristics.

• These chemicals may be created during burning of forests or household trash; chlorine
bleaching of pulp and paper; or manufacturing or processing of certain types of
chemicals, such as pesticides.

• PCBs were manufactured as insulator fluids in heat-exchangers and transformers, as

hydraulic fluids, and as additives to paints, oils, and caulks.

• The results demonstrate that attic dust is a useful metric for assessing historical
exposure to atmospheric emissions.