Origin and Fate of Vanadium in the Hazeltine Creek Catchment following the 2014 Mount Polley Mine Tailings Spill in British Columbia, Canada

Karen A. Hudson-Edwards, Patrick Byrne, Graham Bird, Paul Brewer, Ian Burke, Heather Jamieson, Mark Macklin, Richard Williams

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28 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Results from the analysis of aqueous and solid-phase V speciation within samples collected from the Hazeltine Creek catchment affected by the August 2014 Mount Polley mine tailings dam failure in British Columbia, Canada, are presented. Electron microprobe and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis found that V is present as V 3+ substituted into magnetite and V 3+ and V 4+ substituted into titanite, both of which occur in the spilled Mount Polley tailings. Secondary Fe oxyhydroxides forming in inflow waters and on creek beds have V K-edge XANES spectra exhibiting E1/2 positions and pre-edge features consistent with the presence of V 5+ species, suggesting sorption of this species on these secondary phases. PHREEQC modeling suggests that the stream waters mostly contain V 5+ and the inflow and pore waters contain a mixture of V 3+ and V 5+. These data, and stream, inflow, and pore water chemical data, suggest that dissolution of V(III)-bearing magnetite, V(III)- and V(IV)-bearing titanite, V(V)-bearing Fe(-Al-Si-Mn) oxhydroxides, and V-bearing Al(OH) 3 and/or clay minerals may have occurred. In the circumneutral pH environment of Hazeltine Creek, elevated V concentrations are likely naturally attenuated by formation of V(V)-bearing secondary Fe oxyhydroxide, Al(OH) 3, or clay mineral colloids, suggesting that the V is not bioavailable. A conceptual model describing the origin and fate of V in Hazeltine Creek that is applicable to other river systems is presented.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4088-4098
Number of pages11
JournalEnvironmental Science & Technology
Volume53
Issue number8
Early online date04 Mar 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Apr 2019

Keywords

  • Vanadium
  • Mount Polley
  • tailings
  • magnetite
  • titanity
  • XANES
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • British Columbia
  • Minerals
  • Rivers

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