Assessment of the Pollution Level and Determination of the Geo-Accumulation Index of Heavy Metals in the Soil from the Old Funicular Dump Area – Uricani

As a result of the mining activities carried out in the Jiu Valley, tailings dumps resulted. Currently, some of these tailing dumps are greened, some are inactive, and some of them are still active within operational exploitation perimeters. In order to capture the negative effects of these deposits, in this work an assessment of the degree of contamination will be carried out and the level of geo-accumulation of heavy metals will be determined in the soil in the area of the Old Funicular dump, an inactive one for about 12 years. The dump was formed following the deposition of tailings resulting from coal mining in the Uricani mine. The main purpose is to identify the types and concentrations of heavy metals present in the soil and determine the level of accumulation of these metals in a certain area. The study involved the collection of soil samples from 17 sampling points, followed by detailed chemical analyses to determine the concentrations of heavy metals present in the soil at the tailings dump. The results indicated variable levels of heavy metal contamination, with concentrations exceeding the normal value of these heavy metals in soil in certain areas. The geo-accumulation index (I_geo) was calculated to assess the degree of accumulation of each heavy metal in soil. The I_geo values obtained varied from slightly polluted to moderately polluted, suggesting a significant influence of mining activities on the soil in this area. The conclusions of the study emphasize the need to implement phytoremediation measures and continuous monitoring to prevent ecological and human health risks.