Ecology & Safety, Volume 8, 2014

Abstract: Uranium activity in the bearing area of Novoveska Huta (48°54´6.0632119´´E; 20°31´1.5474701´´N) was associated with the storage of contaminated materials of heaps near the worksite, and the result is that today we are talking about old mining load of uranium mining. Mine dumps and heaps are contaminated with uranium and its derived products, heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and others. Their presence causes radiological and toxicological risk to the environment. Thus the heaps after uranium mining represent basic objects, which are examined in this work, in order to assess the impact of uranium mining and the subsequent revitalization on the biotic component of the environment. Mining heaps in the area of Novoveská Huta act as habitats with specific ecological conditions for vegetation. The revitalization of biological reclamation was carried out on individual heaps, which included covering heaps with humus material and subsequent seeding of grasses and planting trees. Phytocenological research on investigated dumps showed a relatively small number of species forming vegetation cover. Resistant species known from heaps with high level of heavy metals were dominant (e.g. Agrostis capillaris, Rumex acetosella) and plants that were planted on individual heaps in the process of restoration measures (e.g. Picea abies, Larix decidua, Abies alba).