Source to sink river pollution assessment and control in Bulgaria

Similar to its neighbouring countries in the lower Danube drainage basin, Bulgaria has a long history of base and precious metal mining with often limited environmental protection legislation in place. The Panagyurishte ore district in central Bulgaria contains some of Europe’s most important Cu and Au deposits, and lies within both the Danube and Maritsa river basins; both major international river systems. Despite a large body of work having been carried out into characterising the geology of metal deposits, there has been no concerted effort to establish the magnitude of resulting metal contamination of fluvial environments and to establish patterns of metal dispersal from Bulgarian rivers to the wider Danube and Maritsa systems.

The project, carried out in collaboration with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences comprised the first ever nationwide geochemical survey of river water and river sediment in Bulgaria. In total, 450 samples were collected and analysed for a suite of contaminant metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) and As. In addition, Pb isotope analysis has been carried out in an attempt to trace the dispersal of contaminated river sediment through Bulgarian river systems and identify key contamination sources. This information will be of direct benefit to the sustainable management of mining-affected river systems, particularly with respect to the challenges posed by the EU WFD.

Publications

Bird, G., Brewer, P. A., Nikolova, M., Kotsev, T., Macklin, M. G. and Mollov, M. (in prep.). Water and sediment quality in mining-affected river catchments of the Danube and Maritsa drainage basins, Bulgaria, Eastern Europe.

Bird, G., Brewer, P. A., Nikolova, M., Kotsev, T., Macklin, M. G. and Mollov, M. (in prep.).Pb isotope evidence for the dispersal of contaminant metals in river channel sediments in Bulgaria and the lower River Danube.

Brewer, P. A., Nikolova, M., Bird, G., Kotsev, T., Macklin, M. G., Mollov, M. and Swain, C., (2005). Source to sink river pollution assessment in northern Bulgaria: preliminary results on contaminant delivery in the lower Danube basin. In, Proceedings of the 5th International SGEM Scientific Conference: Modern Management of Mine Producing, Geology and Environment Protection. 387-396.