Data on metal concentrations in soil and porewater of a marsh receiving leachate from an abandoned lead-zinc mine in Ireland were used to estimate the retention and accumulation of metals by the marsh. Iron concentrations did not vary according to a consistent pattern throughout the marsh. Levels of Zn, As, Pb and Cd decreased with increasing distance from the mine site. The marsh was estimated to retain 95 % of Zn and 65 % of As from porewater. Up to 30 % of the estimated total capacity of the marsh to retain metals had been used so far. Longevity of the marsh is estimated to be in the order of several centuries.
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