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IN-SITU SEQUESTRATION OF ZINC: SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS FROM A FIELD STUDY
Citation:
WILLIAMS, A., K. G. SCHECKEL, AND JAMES A. RYAN. IN-SITU SEQUESTRATION OF ZINC: SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS FROM A FIELD STUDY. Presented at American Chemical Society Meeting & Exposition, Washington, DC, August 28 - September 01, 2005.
Description:
Zinc concentrations in the soil and groundwater at the Indian Head Naval Warfare Center, located in Charles County Maryland, have been observed at levels exceeding 20 g/kg and 25 mg/L respectively due to the operation of a zinc recovery furnace during WWI. Erosion of the site due to a lack of vegetative ground cover, a result of zinc toxicity, has accelerated the transport of zinc contaminated sediments to Mattawoman Creek, where levels at the shore range from 4.5 to 10.7 g zinc/kg sediment. A pilot study evaluating the in-situ application of apatite rock is in progress to determine its ability to sequester zinc at the shore of Mattawoman Creek. The impact of apatite on the speciation, mobilization, and bioavailability of zinc is being evaluated with bulk and µ-EXAFS, XRD, Mössbauer spectroscopy and desorption experiments. Spectroscopic analysis is aimed at identifying the species and location of zinc in the presence and absence of apatite and under changing redox conditions in the sediment.