Investigation of Arsenic and Lead Migration at Former Phosphate Fertilizer Plants
EMSL Project ID
25450a
Abstract
Battelle is conducting ongoing geochemical investigations of arsenic and lead migration at a number of former phosphate fertilizer plant sites located in the Southeastern U.S. Field and laboratory studies and geochemical modeling are being conducted to develop conceptual geochemical models of contaminate fate and transport and evaluate potential remedial alternatives at these sites. Significant components of these projects include:
• Identification and characterization of the solid phases containing the contaminants of concern
• Determination of contaminant release mechanisms from the various phases which contain contaminants of concern.
• Evaluation of solid phases along the groundwater flowpath that potentially affect contaminant migration.
• Determination of how the geochemistry of the system can be manipulated to decrease release from phases which are currently releasing contaminants.
• Determination of natural attenuation processes that are effective at sequestering the contaminants of concern.
• Design of remediation measures to reduce contaminant levels in groundwater to below applicable standards.
Specific capabilities involving EMSL instrumentation include:
SEM/EDS analysis of samples including elemental mapping.
FIB-SEM instrument equipped with an EDS, EBSD, STEM detector (this capability is expected to be available later this summer). We plan to use this capability to better define recalcitrant phases which have sequestered As and Pb and how they were formed in-situ. This is important for assessing natural attenuation processes and determining how to enhance these processes.
Micro-XRD to identify the presence of specific phases of interest at a greater than 100μ scale.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2007-08-03
End Date
2008-08-03
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members