This work was undertaken in the Velhas River Basin, in the municipalities of Rio Acima, Nova Lima, Raposos and Sabará, upstream of the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Velhas River provides the public water supply for much of this region. The gold and iron mining activities in the Velhas River yield considerable amounts of suspended solids as well as metals to the hydrological system of the region. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the concentrations of arsenic and trace metals in the waters and their distribution and mobility in sediment by BCR sequential extraction. Arsenic concentrations in the water samples were between 78.1 and 85.3 μg L-1, which exceeded 10 μg L-1 (maximum limit permitted by Brazilian environmental regulations for water destined to human consumption, CONAMA Resolution 357/2005). The sequential extraction of the sediment showed considerable amounts of As (20%), Cd (55%), Co (56%), Cr (16%), Cu (23%), Ni (29%), Pb (47%) and Zn (71%) associated with the geochemical fractions considered potentially available for the remobilization to the aquatic environment. The presence of the elements in these fractions indicated high ecotoxicological risk and potential harm to the health of the local population.

On November 5, 2015, the Fundão dam ruptured which caused the spill of a large quantity of tailings from the extraction of iron ores to the Gualaxo do Norte, Carmo and Doce Rivers. Seven months prior to the rupture, our group had collected water and sediment samples at 13 points along the Tripuí Creek and the entire length of the Carmo River. Six months after deposition of the mud, new samples were collected in the Carmo River. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the concentrations of trace elements in the waters and their distribution and mobility in sediment by BCR sequential extraction before and after the deposition of the tailings mud. Arsenic concentrations in the water samples were between 10.4 and 50.4 µg L-1, which exceeded 10 ug L-1 (maximum limit permitted by Brazilian environmental regulations for water destined for human consumption) . The tailing mud layer on the sediments caused concentration increases of As (20%), Cd (13%), Co (5%), Cr (9%), Cu (11%), Ni (4%), Pb (7%) and Zn (19%) in the easily remobilized fractions. The presence of the elements in these fractions was indicative of high ecotoxicological risk and potential harm to the health of the local population.

The adsorption of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution by magnetic particles of crosslinked chitosan-ethylenediamine-Fe(III) (MPCh-EDA-FeCL) was studied in a batch system. Fe3+ in the MPCh-EDA-FeCL permitted that adsorption of Cr(VI) occurred with maximum efficiency between pH 3 and 11. The maximum adsorption capacity at pH 7.0 was 81.04 mg g-1 at 25 ºC. The adsorption kinetic process was described by the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters indicated spontaneous, exothermic and chemical adsorption nature. The adsorbent was successively regenerated using a 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH solution. Results were satisfactory for treatment of wastewater from the electroplating industry.