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FIELD STUDY OF THE FATE OF ARSENIC, LEAD, AND ZINC AT THE GROUND-WATER/SURFACE-WATER INTERFACE
Citation:
FORD, R. G., R. T. WILKIN, K. G. SCHECKEL, C. J. PAUL, F. P. BECK, P. J. CLARK, AND T. R. LEE. FIELD STUDY OF THE FATE OF ARSENIC, LEAD, AND ZINC AT THE GROUND-WATER/SURFACE-WATER INTERFACE. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-05/161, 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
published report
Description:
It is recognized that physical and chemical interactions between adjacent ground water and surface water bodies are an important factor impacting water budget and nutrient/contaminant transport within a watershed. This observation is also of importance for hazardous waste site cleanup within the United States, since about 75% of sites regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) are located within a half mile of a surface water body. The boundary between adjacent ground water and surface water bodies is referred to as the ground-water/surface-water (GW/SW) transition zone. The transition zone plays a critical role in governing contaminant exchange and transformation during water exchange between the two water bodies. The purpose of this document is to illustrate some of the chemical processes that govern contaminant transport and speciation during water exchange across the GW/SW transition zone. The focus of this document is the assessment of transformations in metal speciation for sediments contaminated as a result of interactions with a discharging contaminant plume. Results from a field investigation to define the fate of arsenic, lead and zinc transported across the GW/SW transition zone at a contaminated site are reviewed to illustrate important aspects of the site conceptual model in this hydrologic setting and to provide an example of approaches to characterizing the spatial and temporal patterns of inorganic contaminant speciation that may develop. While the observed distributions of arsenic, lead and zinc in ground water, sediments, and surface water are ultimately unique to site-specific characteristics, there are some general patterns in contaminant geochemistry that are relevant to other contaminated sites. Specifically, the results of this study may have application to sites where an anoxic iron-rich ground-water plume encounters an oxygenated environment (e.g., anoxic landfill leachates or contaminant plumes).