Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The mining activities form Haneș area caused a sever pollution of the environment, affecting human health. In this study, a number of 52 samples (both water and soil) have been collected over a period of three years from Haneș mining area and along the Turnului Creek (which crosses the Haneș locality). Physico-chemical (pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity, and salinity) and chemical parameters consisting of dissolved anions (F^-, Cl^-, Br^-, NO₃^-, PO₄^3-, SO₄^2-, NO₂^- and S^2-) and heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Fe) have been analyzed in order to evaluate the quality of the environment. For some of the analyzed wastewaters, the concentration of Ni, Zn, Pb, Fe, F^-, NO₃^-, NO₂^-, SO₄^2-, and S^2- exceeded the maximum permissible limits (MPL) imposed by the Romanian legislation regarding the discharge in surface water. As a consequence, most of the analyzed surface waters were classified as 5th quality class, corresponding to a bad quality. High levels of Zn, Cu, and Pb have been identified in investigated soil samples, exceeding the alert thresholds and even the intervention threshold, for Cu and Pb. The obtained results indicate the presence of several toxic elements, which may represent a risk factor for the ecosystems and human health in the investigated area.