PHYTOSTABILIZATION OF MOSABONI COPPER MINE TAILINGS: A GREEN STEP TOWARDS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Bare metal mine tailings are prone to erosion as the very young top soils develop on unstable materials with low cohesion and also cause environmental pollution through leaching of toxic metals to surroundings. An appropriate vegetation cover may reduce the erosion and immobilize toxic metals through phytostabilization. The abandoned copper mines in Mosaboni (Jharkhand, India) left huge amount of untreated tailings containing high concentration toxic metals and became a source of metal pollutants. So, through a pot scale study an attempt was made to determine the potential of Cymbopogon citratus in phytostabilization of copper tailings with and without amendment. Although, limited plant growth was observed on pure tailings (T); addition of chicken manure (M) or soil-manure mixture (MS) caused manifold increase in plant growth. Application of M caused more accumulation of toxic metals in aerial parts indicating possible threat of entry of toxic metal into the food chain. However, use of MS reduced metal accumulation in plant tissue. So, in the present case, where there is no option for continuous harvesting and disposal of plant biomass in the secured landfill, phytostabilization is more appropriate than phytoextraction, and lemon grass could be used in combination with MS to stabilize bare tailings.