Agriculture & Food, Volume 5, 2017

Abstract: The main objective of this case study is to refer on properties of Technosols on the landfill of black nickel mud, the industrial waste from nickel and cobalt production, at the former Nickel Smelter in Sereď (NSS) in association with the possibility to remediate the landfill and eliminate its impact on the environment. Chemical analysis of samples the black nickel mud pointed at the absence of some bioelements, higher content of salts along with very strong alkaline reaction, as well high content of harmful heavy metals (chromium, nickel, and cobalt) and a low retention capacity of water, low content of organic carbon and negligible microbial activity, etc. The landfill of black nickel mud has developed during the 30-year operation of the NSS (1963-1993). It is an unnatural artificial element in cultural landscape of the Podunajská nížina Lowland with highly negative effects on the environment for 53 years now. In 1982/83, research team consisting of several scientific institutes of the Slovak Academy of Science in Bratislava carried out the basic biological and ecological research of the landfill and prepared the materials for remediation of this technogenic surface. However, the management of NSS has changed its attitude and the proposed elimination of the secondary dustiness by planting greenery was excluded. Instead it has proposed a regular sprinkling of the technogenic of to black mud, which resulted ineffective. The landfill still degrades the environment, endangers human health and quality of life of more than 20,000 people inhabiting the area in spite of the fact that the primary source of pollutants, the NSS has been closed in 1994. In the same year, the State, the original owner of the landfill, sold it to a private company which exploits the waste for 23 years now, damages the environment and does not comply with the contracted conditions set by the National Property Fund in the buy-sell agreement.