Grantee Research Project Results
An Improved Method for Establishing Water Quality Criteria for Mining Impacted Streams
EPA Grant Number: R829515C013Subproject: this is subproject number 013 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R829515
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for the Study of Metals in the Environment
Center Director: Allen, Herbert E.
Title: An Improved Method for Establishing Water Quality Criteria for Mining Impacted Streams
Investigators: Ranville, James , Ross, Phillipe , Cohen, Ron , Wildeman, Thomas
Institution: Colorado School of Mines
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2006
RFA: Hazardous Substance Research Centers - HSRC (2001) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
The overall objective of this research project is to improve our ability to evaluate the environmental impact of mining wastes on aquatic ecosystems. This approach is based on furthering our understanding of the factors affecting metal bioavailability. The practical outcomes of this research project are: (1) an improved means of setting water quality criteria for mining-impacted streams; and (2) a rapid screening tool that can be applied in the field to evaluate the potential environmental impact of mine wastes. The research project has four specific objectives: (1) evaluation of the existing Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) for mining-impacted waters; (2) improvement of the BLM by examining the influence on metal toxicity of the unique nature of mining-impacted waters with respect to the hardness cations; (3) further development of the BLM to include mixed metals (Cu and Zn); and (4) development of a microbial bioassay to rapidly screen mine wastes to assess their toxicity potential.
Supplemental Keywords:
Technical Outreach Services for Communities, TOSC, Technical Assistance to Brownfields, TAB, groundwater, industry sectors, waste, water, ecological risk assessment, ecology, ecosystems, ecology and ecosystems, environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, geology, geochemistry, toxicology, microbiology, hazardous, hazardous waste, mining-NAIC 21, selenium, acid mine drainage, acid mine runoff, aquatic ecosystems, arsenic, contaminant transport, contaminated sediments, contaminated marine sediment, contaminated waste sites, contaminated sites, contaminated soil, field monitoring, mining-impacted runoff, sediment transport, stream ecosystems, suspended sediment, sediments, mining, remediation, metal mobility, subsurface, extraction of metals, heavy metals, leaching of toxic metals, metal release, metal wastes, metals, metals-contaminated soil, mining wastes, remediation technologies, risk assessment, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Industry Sectors, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, TREATMENT/CONTROL, INDUSTRY, Waste, Water, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Hazardous, Remediation, Restoration, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Risk Assessment, Waste Treatment, Industrial Processes, Ground Water, Ecosystem Protection, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Groundwater remediation, Hazardous Waste, Mining - NAIC 21, Chemicals, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Engineering, Risk Assessment, heavy metals, contaminant transport, bioavailability, mining, acid mine drainage, treatment, acid mine discharge, ecological impact, geochemistry, restoration strategies, rivers, water quality, contaminated aquifers, mining wastes, leaching of toxic metals, stakeholder groups, Biotic Ligand Model, aquatic ecosystem, water quality criteria, contaminated groundwater, metal release, remediation technologies, acid mine runoff, community involvement, monitoring, streams, contaminated sites, extraction of metals, hydrogeology, contaminated waste sites, metals, metal wastes, aquatic ecosystems, groundwater pollution, heavy metal contamination, stream ecosystem, ecological recoveryProgress and Final Reports:
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R829515 Center for the Study of Metals in the Environment Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R829515C001 Redox Transformations, Complexation and Soil/Sediment
Interactions of Inorganic Forms of As and Se in Aquatic Environments: Effects
of Natural Organic Matter
R829515C002 Fate and Transport of Metals and Sediment in Surface Water
R829515C003 Metal Removal Capabilities of Passive Bioreactor Systems: Effects of Organic Matter and Microbial Population Dynamics
R829515C004 Evaluating Recovery of Stream Ecosystems from Mining Pollution:
Integrating Biochemical, Population, Community and Ecosystem Indicators
R829515C005 Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center
Training and Technology Transfer Program
R829515C006 Technical Outreach Services for Communities and Technical Assistance to Brownfields
R829515C007 Evaluation of Hydrologic Models for Alternative Covers at Mine Waste Sites
R829515C008 Microbial Reduction of Uranium in Mine Leachate by Fermentative and Iron-Reducing Bacteria
R829515C009 Development and Characterization of Microbial Inocula for High-Performance Passive Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage
R829515C010 Reactive Transport Modeling of Metal Removal From Anaerobic Biozones
R829515C011 Assessment of Electrokinetic Injection of Amendments for Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage
R829515C012 Metal Toxicity Thresholds for Important Reclamation Plant Species of the Rocky Mountains
R829515C013 An Improved Method for Establishing Water Quality Criteria for Mining Impacted Streams
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.