The Effects of Heavy Metal on the Flora of the Copper Basin

1. The Effects of Heavy Metal on the Flora of the Copper Basin Sean A. Flatt Undergraduate Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, Tn

2. Project Summary • Objective: To determine the effects of heavy metals on the flora in the Copper Basin • ICP Analysis of soil, water, and plant samples will determine the concentration of heavy metals • Expected Results: Prove the existence of heavy metals in high concentrations in water and soil • Goal: Identify species of flora able to accumulate heavy metals

3. Background • The Copper Basin is an area of approx. 60,000 acres in the extreme southeast corner of TN • Site of the only deep shaft mines east of the Mississippi

4. Background, continued • First the land was cleared of trees to fuel the smelters • The Sulfur released rained back down as Sulfuric Acid, destroying the remaining vegetation • Massive soil erosion followed

5. Background, continued • Remnants of ore wastes have contaminated North Potato Creek and Davis Mill Creek, both tributaries of the Ocoee River • In total, an estimated 9,000 hectare (35 square mile) area was decimated (Faulkner and Miller, 2003) • Once considered our country’s largest man-made biological desert

6. Background, continued • Abandoned mining operations have provided an ideal backdrop for many scientific studies involving heavy metals (Madejon et al., 2003; Stoltz and Greger, 2001; Tang and Fang, 2001) • Sites of major industrial processes have provided similar environmental conditions for study (Barman et al., 2000; Jang et al., 2002; Machado et al., 2002)

7. Objective/Hypothesis • The objective of this study is to study the effects of heavy metals on the flora of Tennessee’s Copper Basin, the site of extensive copper and sulfur mining activities • Null Hypothesis: Heavy metals are not concentrated in the soil, water, or vegetation of Tennessee’s Copper Basin

8. Methods of Sampling • Soil, plant, and water samples will be taken at specific locations and recorded by GPS systems • Areas of testing will include land not directly involved in mining operations, unremediated spoil sites, and areas of past remediation • Plant specimens will be identified and recorded prior to analysis

9. Methods, continued • Soil and plant samples will be placed in a incubator after returning from the field • Water samples will be placed in a refrigerator until time of analysis • One gram of each sample will measured out and placed in 15ml centrifuge tubes and transported to the TTU Waters Center for ICP analysis

10. Methods, continued • ICP Testing-This method allows for elemental analysis for elemental analysis of the plant tissue, soil and water components • Plant species that are possibly hyperaccumulating heavy metals should show high concentrations when tested using the ICP • Data Form • Data will be processed after analysis from TTU Waters Center

11. Materials • Collection tubes • Portable scale • Global Positioning System • Field notebook • Plastic covered shovel and shearing snips (No metal can be used to collect samples)

12. Expected Results • Soil samples will have at least slightly elevated concentrations of heavy metals (highest concentrations expected in those taken from spoil piles) • Water samples will also have elevated concentrations of heavy metals • The amount of heavy metals accumulating in plant samples will vary with species, from 0 to possibly significant levels

13. Benefits of Research • Gain better understanding of the long term effects of mining on the natural ecosystem • Examine the effectiveness of past remediation efforts (Berry, 1979;Cook et al., 2000; Muncy, 1986) • Possibility of identifying a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, which would dramatically impact current methods of land reclamation

14. Project Timeline • Initial sampling trip: Feb. 20, 2004 • Incubation of samples: Feb. 23, 2004 • Sample preparation for analysis: Mar. 2, 2004 • Samples delivered to TTU Water Center: March 3, 2004 • Anticipated date of analysis: March 18, 2004 • Additional sampling trip: April 2004

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