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TRACE ELEMENT CHARACTERIZATION OF COAL WASTES. SECOND ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT, OCTOBER 1, 1976--SEPTEMBER 30, 1977
Citation:
Wewerka, E., J. Williams, N. Vanderborgh, A. Harmon, AND P. Wagner. TRACE ELEMENT CHARACTERIZATION OF COAL WASTES. SECOND ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT, OCTOBER 1, 1976--SEPTEMBER 30, 1977. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-78/028a.
Description:
Analyses of the trace elements and major minerals in bulk refuse and coal samples from the Illinois Basin were completed. This activity was followed by studies to elucidate the structural relationships and associations among the trace elements. Several series of weathering and leaching experiments were conducted to define the environmental behavior of the trace elements in the refuse and coal samples under various environmental conditions. These investigations resulted in the identification of the trace elements of most environmental concern in typical Illinois Basin refuse and coal. Methods to control the trace element contamination of refuse and coal drainage are being investigated. These refuse materials are very complex. Some 55 elements have been identified in most of the refuse samples and undoubtedly there are more. The most abundant of these elements, iron, aluminum, and silicon, compose the structures of the major mineral systems. A large number of elements generally considered to be environmentally sensitive are present in these refuse materials in significant quantities (>30 mu g/g). Included among these are fluorine, aluminum, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, and lead. Although the relative amounts of some of these components are seemingly small, the absolute quantities available in a large or active waste dump could cause grave consequences in the surrounding environment if they were to be released and concentrated by natural processes. (ERA citation 03:051767)