Street Dust (SD) acts as a sink and source of atmospheric particles containing Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) and can pose a possible pathway of PTEs to human bodies. Comprehensive SD study, where 249 samples were collected from rural, urban and industrialized areas aimed to increase the understanding between sedimentation of atmospheric dust derived from anthropogenic activities and elemental composition of SD. Elemental composition for 53 elements (ICP-MS, aqua regia digestion) was determined on fraction <0.063 mm. Significantly increased levels of Sn-Cu-Sb-Bi-Ag-Ba-Mo-Pt-Pb and other elements have been detected in urban environments, compared to the rural ones. SEM/EDS investigation identified that main carriers of Ba, Cu and Sn are most likely particles derived from non-exhaust traffic emissions. Areas around steel mills show a strong enrichment with Cr, Mo, Ni and W, which exponentially decreases with the increased distance from the plant, reaching corresponding urban background 15 and 20 km from the source. SEM/EDS inspection identified spherical and melted irregular particles as the main carriers of the above-mentioned elements. City managers shall adapt measures to reduce amount of vehicular traffic and quantity of deposited SD on the public surfaces and encourage green city planning, while industrial emitters are encouraged to reduce their dust emissions.

The bottleneck in the process for increasing production of low CO₂ mineral binders, based on BCSA (belite sulfoaluminate) clinkers, is the availability of Al-rich raw materials. For that purpose, a new registry of Al-containing secondary mineral residues (industrial and mine waste) has been developed and is presented in this paper. The methodology of creating the registry consists of three main steps: Gathering ideas, consolidation of ideas, and implementation. In order to achieve this, the following methodology was adopted: Analysis of similar registries by potential end-users and seeking potential solutions and tools to be used, and conducting 3 rounds of stakeholder consultations via workshops in order to determine crucial parameters and features the registry needs to contain. The key discussion points were about which data the registry needs to contain, who shall be the potential users, and what are the stakeholder’s expectations from the registry’s portal. Potential individual registry variables were identified as being relevant/irrelevant or available/unavailable, and potential solutions for the registry’s sustainability were explored. Each Al-rich waste/residue data entry is divided into 10 slots, describing legal status, location, quantities, chemical (REE included), mineralogical, physical and radiological properties, life-cycle assessment, additional data, and data relevancy. The registry will act as a matchmaking tool between producers/holders of Al-rich secondary raw materials and potential producers of cement clinkers.

The cement industry could potentially consume large amounts of solid industrial waste in order to improve its sustainability. The suitability of selected quarry and mine waste as secondary raw materials (SRM) was examined for the sustainable production of cement following the concept of a circular economy. The chemical, mineralogical, and radiological characterization of SRM was conducted in this study. Its potential use in low-carbon and low-energy belite-sulfoaluminate cement was investigated by incorporating the examined SRM into cement clinker. Various characterization methods were used to characterize the cement, including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA/TG), and isothermal calorimetry. Depending on the chemical composition of the waste, lower or higher amounts were allowed to be incorporated into the raw clinker mixture for a targeted clinker phase composition. Among the samples, differences were observed in the phase composition of synthesized clinkers, which slightly influenced the reactivity of the cement but did not significantly change the compressive strength of the final product.

The increase in industrial waste generation presents a global problem that is a consequence of the needs of modern society. To achieve the goals of the EU Green Deal and to promote the concept of circular economy (CE), the valorization of industrial residues as secondary raw materials offers a pathway to economic, environmental, energetic, and social sustainability. In this respect, Al-containing industrial residues from alumina processing (red mud), thermal power plants (fly ash and bottom ash), and metallurgy (slag), as well as other industries, present a valuable mineral resource which can be considered as secondary raw materials (SRMs) with the potential to be used in construction, supporting the concept of circular economy. This paper focuses on the characterization of 19 secondary raw materials from the East South-East Europe (ESEE) region regarding their physical, chemical, mineralogical, and radiological characteristics. The goal is to provide a foundation for future innovations based on secondary raw materials, in alignment with the EU Green Deal and the principles of circular economy. The results showed that fly ash has the potential to be the best material among those analyzed to be used in the cement industry, mainly due to its favorable radiological and mineralogical properties. However, it is important to control the amount of free lime in the mixture, ensuring it remains below 10%. After evaluating secondary mineral raw materials for metal recovery, the results indicate that these materials are not viable sources for base metals or other technology-critical metals, such as REEs.

Children’s lead exposure in three mining-impacted residential areas (Črna, Mežica and Žerjav) was modelled using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children (IEUBK). Site-specific environmental and dietary Pb source values were determined for modelling. For the first time, dietary exposure from both market and local foods was studied in detail. Children (Group 1: 24–36 and Group 2: 36–48 months) geometric mean blood lead levels (BLLs) were predicted and lead uptake from multiple sources was quantified according to the different dietary exposure scenarios. Biomonitoring data were used for validation. Site-specific soil, house dust and local food Pb contents are higher than legislative and background levels, remaining a cause for concern. Drinking tap water concentrations and outdoor air contents were found in acceptable levels. The determined dietary exposures, ranging from 0.7 to 3.3 µg/kg bw/day, were above the benchmark dose level of 0.5 µg/kg bw/day for developmental neurotoxicity set for Pb in children, indicating a health concern. In general, the estimated BLLs matched reasonably well with the observed BLLs in the Črna and Mežica area for both age groups and in the Žerjav area for Group 2. For Group 1, in the Žerjav area, the output of the IEUBK model overestimated the actual BLLs of the children. For both groups, the primary exposure pathway in Žerjav is from soil/dust, ranging from 55.3 to 84.8%. In Črna and Mežica, soil/dust exposure ranged between 24.2 and 57.8% and between 26.4 and 61.7%, respectively, indicating that dietary exposure predominates when local foods are included. The results of our study also suggest that using the IEUBK default diet value would reduce the dietary exposure up to 25.2% in Črna, 24.2% in Mežica and 8.6% in Žerjav. One of the main findings is that a diet containing local foods can be an important source of lead in mining-contaminated areas.