Rare earth elements as tracers of sediment contamination by phosphogypsum in the Santos estuary, southern Brazil

Abstract

In the Cubatão region, southern Brazil, sediments are transported by several rivers from the Serra do Mar Ridge into the Santos estuary. Fertilizer plants have been operating along the margins of one of these rivers (Mogi River) producing a large volume of phosphogypsum, which is stockpiled in nearby areas. Surface sediments of the Mogi River were sampled upstream and downstream in relation to the point where the effluents of the phosphogypsum piles flow into the drainage system. In the vicinity of this point one sediment core was collected. Results show that REE, Ba, Zr and Th concentrations in the non-contaminated sediments are of the same order as those present in the upper continental crust. The contaminated samples present a composition affected by that of the phosphogypsum, marked by a higher concentration of these elements and a stronger degree of REE fractionation. These phosphogypsum characteristics are inherited from the Catalão igneous phosphate ore and were moderately modified by the industrial process of phosphoric acid production. The phosphogypsum signal decreases rapidly downstream, pointing to a limited area of influence of the stacks. The deepest sediments of the core are also free of contamination, representing a time interval prior to the deposition of phosphogypsum wastes on the banks of the estuary.