title: Environmental implications of material leached from coal.
abstract: Samples of coal were collected from different seams at a South African coal mine and comparative leaching experiments were carried out under various pH conditions and times to investigate the leaching behavior and potential environmental impact of possibly hazardous elements such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Th and U. The calculated leaching intensities, sequential extraction results and cumulative percentages demonstrate that the leaching behavior of the elements is strongly influenced by the pH, the leaching time and the properties and occurrences of the elements. The leached concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni and Pb exceeded the maximum concentrations recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for surface water.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tshwane University of Technology, Arcadia Campus, PO Box 56208, Arcadia 0007, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moyo
authors.forename: Munyaradzi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mujuru
authors.forename: Rob I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: McCrindle
authors.forename: Ntebogeng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mokgalaka-Matlala
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D003032:Coal Mining; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic