Arsenic in the food chains of a revegetated metalliferous mine tailings pond

The environmental distribution, transfer and ecotoxicological risk associated with arsenic in a grassland ecosystem established on metalliferous mine tailings has been determined. High levels of arsenic in the mine tailings (630 ± 34 mg kg−1) were not reflected in live vegetation due to the physico-chemical nature of the tailings which mitigate against plant uptake. However, elevated levels of arsenic were associated with plant litter. Low concentrations of arsenic in herbivorous invertebrates mirrored those found in their food, although there was evidence of minor detritivoral food chain transfer. Dietary exposure of small mammals to arsenic was well below that demonstrated to induce a toxicological response, and tissue concentrations were consistently below analytical detection limits. There appears to be little ecotoxicological risk associated with arsenic residues at the mine site investigated.