Potential for Coal-Related Groundwater Contamination in the Atlantic Coastal Plain Soils of Maryland

摘要

Energy-related wastes such as coal-derived leachates are potential sources of groundwater contamination. These are often relatively high strength solutions containing trace amounts of environmentally sensitive anions and cations. Recent research has indicated that when solutions of this type are released to soil systems, chemical interactions among solution components can lead to unexpected transport consequences. The research reported on here was designed to evaluate the potential for this type of 'multicomponent' interaction in soils typical of Maryland's Atlantic coastal plain. To accomplish this research, samples from five soils typical of the coastal plain surface deposits, and one sample from the 'deep' Aquia Greensand aquifer were acquired and analyzed. The results of these studies indicated that the surface soils have substantial capacities to attenuate the environmentally sensitive ions typical of coal-derived leachates.