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Arsenic Sources and Assessment (2006)
Citation:
AL-ABED, S. R. AND G. JEGADEESAN. Arsenic Sources and Assessment (2006). Presented at Arsenic And Landfills: Protecting Water Quality. Workshop Organized By Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) in NIEHS, Boston, MA, October 04 - 05, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
to present information
Description:
Recent research has identified a number of potential and current links between environmental arsenic releases and the management of operational and abandoned landfills. Many landfills will receive an increasing arsenic load due to the disposal of arsenic-bearing solid residuals (ABSR) from drinking water treatment processes and chromated-copper-arsenate (CCA) treated timber from construction demolition. Simultaneously, there is a growing body of research indicating that arsenic will be released over time from these wastes under municipal solid waste landfill conditions. In addition, arsenic is a common constituent of many natural iron-bearing soils and sediments or may accumulate in them. Recent research also indicates that if these soils are impacted by high organic, landfill leachate plumes, they may release the arsenic into the surrounding groundwater. The objectives of the workshop were to disseminate the latest findings regarding the associations between arsenic releases and landfill management, including potential human health impacts, and to provide a forum for the discussion of the findings and appropriate responses to them. It was an express purpose of the conference to be a two-way communication conduit in which knowledge and experience regarding the arsenic-landfills relationship can be exchanged. This included presentation of new research and operational concepts as well as discussion of priorities, knowledge gaps and uncertainties identified by resource managers and others directly impacted by these issues.