https://www.journalajopacs.com/index.php/AJOPACS <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Asian Journal of Physical and Chemical Sciences (ISSN: 2456-7779)</strong> aims to publish high quality papers (<a href="https://journalajopacs.com/index.php/AJOPACS/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>) in all areas of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.</p> SCIENCEDOMAIN international en-US Asian Journal of Physical and Chemical Sciences 2456-7779 https://www.journalajopacs.com/index.php/AJOPACS/article/view/259 <p>Waste generated during gold ore processing often contains toxic substances such as heavy metals like lead and chemicals (cyanide, acids). If not properly controlled, these components can contaminate/pollute soil and ecosystems.</p> <p>The objective of this study is to assess the degree of soil and groundwater contamination around a mining laboratory where chemical and metallurgical analyses are carried out. The main sources of contamination identified come from lead smelting (“Fire Assay”) and aqua regia digestion activities, which generate solid waste and liquid effluents rich in heavy metals and acidic substances.</p> <p>To carry out this assessment, soil, wastewater, and groundwater samples were collected inside the laboratory. The samples were analyzed to determine the presence of heavy metals such as lead, as well as physical and chemical parameters such as pH and conductivity.</p> <p>The results of the physical and chemical parameters of wastewater from basins A and B indicate high acidity ranging from 1.87 to 2.57, an average temperature of 26 °C, and high mineralization due to high electrical conductivities exceeding 2000 μS/cm. RFX analysis shows a high presence of heavy metals, lead (3435.49 ppm), chromium (439.21 ppm), arsenic (155.59 ppm), and strontium (1066.13 ppm), illustrating significant soil contamination, particularly in areas where solid residues (cups, crucibles, slag) are stored in the open air. Chemical analysis of groundwater reveals that it is of good quality and meets WHO standards.</p> <p>This study highlights the environmental impact of current waste management practices in laboratories and emphasizes the urgent need to implement pollutant treatment solutions to limit the spread of contaminants in the environment.</p> Chaibou Yacouba Abdoul Rachid Maman Hassan Abdourazakou Souley Harouna Ibrahim Elhadji Daou Pitroipa Gnambkiéta Pavel Brunel Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2025-08-30 2025-08-30 13 4 1 11 10.9734/ajopacs/2025/v13i4259