The management of coal and other related materials for more than 150 years have generated a high level of pollution in areas of the NW Spain. This work contains a petrographic and inorganic geochemical study of the periodic occurrence of black stains on the San Lorenzo beach (Gijón). A set of samples were taken from these occurrences among 2018 and 2019. Organic petrography allowed the different types of organic particles (e.g., coal, coal coke, pet coke, etc.) to be quantified and the rank of the coals present in the samples to be established. Major and trace elements were determined by ICP-ES/MS. The results showed that some elements (As, Cu, Hg, Li, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, V, Y, and Zn) are in higher concentrations than those described for the worldwide hard coals, and the upper continental crust (Re and Y). Taking into account that Gijón town and its beaches are surrounded by a coal mine, a steel company, a coal power plant, a coal park, etc., and El Musel (a bulk seaport), it is probable that these are the sources for the materials that form the black stains resulting from the continuous industrial activity carried out at those facilities.

Este trabajo se ha llevado a cabo dentro del marco del convenio entre el INCAR-CSIC y la Universidad de Oviedo para la realización de las prácticas de Grado de los estudiantes

Peer reviewed