Evaluation of the physicochemical, heavy metal and radiological contamination from phosphogypsum discharges of the phosphoric acid production unit on the coast of El Jadida Province in Morocco

• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-023-09079-w
• Publication Date: 2023-08-18T09:02:05Z
• Authors: Fatima Ezzahra Ar...; Mohammed Hakkar; Saad Ouakkas; Nils Haneklaus; Aziz Boukhair; Abdelmjid Nourred...; Mohammed Benjelloun
• Keywords: Salinity; Nitrite; Health Professions; Environmental engineering; Organic chemistry; 02 engineering and technology; Nitrate; Oceanography; Environmental science; Contamination; Geochemistry and Petrology; Artificial Intelligence; Health Sciences; 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; Machine Learning for Mineral Prospectivity Mapping; Fluoride; Biology; Radiochemistry; Radiological and Ultrasound Technology; Ecology; FOS: Environmental engineering; Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Human Health; Geology; FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences; Raw material; Earth and Planetary Sciences; Nuclear chemistry; Chemistry; Effluent; Radon; FOS: Biological sciences; Physical Sciences; Computer Science; Environmental chemistry; Phosphogypsum; Stable Isotope Analysis of Groundwater and Precipitation; Phosphoric acid; Inorganic chemistry

AbstractThis work assesses potential physicochemical, metallic, and radiological contamination of liquid discharges from the phosphoric acid (PA) production unit at the coast of El Jadida Province in Morocco. The physicochemical parameters: pH, conductivity, salinity, turbidity, total hardness, nitrate, nitrite, orthophosphate, and heavy metals were analyzed in PA and beach samples. 238U, 232Th, and 226Ra were determined by gamma spectrometry, the Radon contents were determined using solid state detectors (LR-115). It is concluded that phosphate effluents are strongly acidic with a mean pH-value of 1.8 and that the discharges still contain relatively high levels of fluoride, phosphorus and radiological substances.