Fish Exposure and In Situ Field Pilot Tests in the Abandoned Mine Drainage for a Stream Restoration

The objectives of this study were to analyze ecological effects on effluents from the Sagok Stream (Chonnam province) as an abandoned mine drainage through necropsy-based health assessments and fish exposure tests, and to conduct In situ field pilot tests for restoration of stream water. Also, we analyzed water quality including general parameters and heavy metals. The tests were performed three times on April 2005, April 2006, and April 2007. Also, we constructed a reactor facility in the outflowing point of the abandoned mine for the remediation of AMD wastewater. In lab test, death rates in all three treatments were ${\geq}50%$ in the experiments. Necropsybased fish tissue assessments using the Health Assessment Index (HAI), indicated that the most frequently damaged tissue was liver (average: 20.8). Values of Health Assessment Index were lower in the control than any other treatments of T1, T2, and T3 and three treatments showed a distinct toxicity impacts by the AMD. In situ lethal test, concentration of Fe, Al and Zn decreased particularly by 85%, 99% and 94%, respectively through the disposal facility. Values of pH, ranged from 3.1 to 7.0, increased by 2.3 fold (mean=5.1) along with the reduction of metal contents. All fishes in P1 cage died 100% on 3 days later after the experimental setting, while all fishes in the P6 died 100% on 9 days later. Overall, these results evidently provide a key methodology for pilot test using the disposal facility and also clarify the toxicity of AMD once again, so this approach used in the pilot facilities here may reduce the acidic and toxic effects in the abandoned mining drainage.