Spatial Patterns of Dust Deposition and PAH Accumulation in Snow near an Open-Pit Coal Mine: The Roles of Topography and Wind Direction in Kuzbass, Russia

Studying dust pollution intensity from the mining industry is essential for the sustainable development of industrial regions worldwide, as it balances economic growth, social well-being, and environmental safety. This study presents the results of a dust pollution study of snow near a coal open pit (during the stripping and pre-mining stage) in the Kemerovo Region-Kuzbass, Russia. We sequentially assessed the mass of PM10 and PM0.1 and the fractional composition of PM10 using light microscopy, determined the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and conducted X-ray diffraction (XRD). We found that the mineral composition of the PM10 fraction contained diffraction peaks from quartz, talc and clay minerals, while calcite, bassanite and zeolite were discovered in PM0.1. The total dustiness was 605 ± 24 μg/cm2 and 204 ± 18 μg/cm2 for PM0.1 and 401 ± 14 μg/cm2 for PM10. Particles in the 0.1–2.5 µm range predominated within PM10, with a mean size of ~1 µm. For all directions, there were no significant trends of an decrease in dust mass with growing distance from the open-pit coal mine. The increase in PAHs in snow coincided with the prevailing eastern wind direction during the snow accumulation season. The present study is important for understanding the processes of dust formation, transport, and deposition during coal mining preparation and operation, dust mineral composition, the amount of PAHs in the snow cover, and to take into account the role of the meteorological conditions, particularly wind direction, and topography.