The Effects of Boron Mining on Boron Content of SoilSediment and Plants

Sonay Sozudogru Ok; Aysen Akay

Abstract

Naturally, the amount of Boron and also Arsenic which sometimes exists together with boron is higher in the soils of the basins where boron deposits exist compared to other soils. This is mainly because of the existence of inorganic components which come out as the result of the decomposition of rocks in the composition of soil. On the other hand, the increase in the amount of B element in the environment, which released during mining activities, is of anthropogenic origin. This situation, however, causes environmental pollution. For this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between these two types of increase and take measures to protect the soil and water resources. The effect of the two different boron mines (X and Y) which exist in this region on the environment has become highly questionable. In this study, B concentration of the soil and plant samples taken from Emet and HisarcÄ±k basin were determined and the dimensions of the natural and anthropogenic effects were investigated. As the result of the examinations performed, it was found that the total boron content of the soils was between 20-2000 mg kg-1 and their plant-available B content was between 0.01-744.39 mg kg-1 . It was observed that these values were the highest near the boron mine as those of the total B content and the values decreased as the distance of the soil from the mine increased. These values are substantially higher than the tolerable limit values.

Keywords

Boron, boron mine, plants, environmental pollution

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Cites this article as

S. S. O. , A. A. , "The Effects of Boron Mining on Boron Content of SoilSediment and Plants", International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering & Management (IJIREM), Vol-3, Issue-5, Page No-454-457, 2016. Available from: