Chemical Contamination Of Groundwater Research Articles

Assessments of radiological and toxicological risks from the use of groundwater and surface water in the zone of influence of the uranium production legacy site

Radioactive and chemical contamination of groundwater and surface water (Konoplyanka and Dnipro Rivers) in the zone of influence of the soviet era uranium production legacy site - Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant (PChP, Kamianske) is a source of radiological and toxicological risks for the population. Modeled water use scenarios included drinking water consumption, crop irrigation, fishing, and usage of the river beaches for recreation. According to the assessment results, the radiological risks of water usage in current conditions are low. At the same time, a conservative assessment indicates potential future toxicological risks from uranium (use of groundwater for drinking) and from manganese (due to accumulation in river fish). In the long term, risks from groundwater may increase significantly due to the dispersion of contaminated groundwater plumes outside the industrial site, or due to unrestricted access of the population to the territory of the PChP. To reduce uncertainty in the risk assessment results, it is important to improve the groundwater monitoring network downstream from the PChP site and to collect site-specific data on manganese transfer coefficients to fish.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding utilization of safe water and effectiveness of community RO water among rural population of Punjab

Introduction: Contamination of ground water in Malwa region of Punjab has been in focus for at least last two decades. Higher than national incidence of cancer in Malwa region (107 against a national average of 80 per 100,000 population) is considered due to chemical contamination of ground water in this region . To ensure provision of potable water to rural Punjab, State government installed 1881 Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in affected districts. Although 180 crores of rupees have been spent on installation of these RO plants, no study has been undertaken to evaluate the project. The present study attempts to fill this knowledge gap by quantifying the extent of utilization of Community RO plants, and assessing knowledge and attitude regarding this scheme of government. Materials and Method: One thousand rural households in two districts of Malwa region were randomly selected to study the knowledge, attitude and practices of target population towards Community RO plants and their utilization through a cross-sectional study. Results: The study revealed that 50.7% of households were consuming water from the Community RO plants, although the awareness regarding contaminated non- availability of any family member for fetching the water (32%), un-affordability (18%), distance of RO plant (15%) and disliking the taste of water (17%).ground water in the region, and potential of contaminated water to cause diseases were much higher. The reasons for this knowledge-practice gap are highlighted. Most common of which are Conclusion: The study shows that any health program to fulfill felt-need of community should be piloted, and planned and implemented with community involvement, otherwise it is doomed to fail as the case of Community RO plants in Punjab where the utilization is mere 50% in spite of positive knowledge and attitude of the people. Keywords:Water, Reverse osmosis, KAP, Cancer, Punjab.

MONITORING OF TECHNOGENIC CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER IN THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE OF URANIUM TAILINGS OF THE PRIDNEPROVSKY CHEMICAL PLANT (KAMYANSKE)

The article presents an analysis of data that were obtained in 2012–2013 in the framework of the Swedish-Ukrainian technical assistance project «ENSHURE — Academic», which included comprehensive monitoring studies of the impact of uranium tailings of the former production association «Pridneprovsky Chemical Plant» (PCHP) (Kamyanske) on radioactive and chemical contamination of groundwater and surface water. It was established that migration of contaminants from the «Dneprovskoye», «Zapadnoye» and «Central Yar» tailings causes pollution of the aquifer in Quaternary alluvial sandy deposits in the zone of influence of tailings by uranium-234, 238, major ions (sulfate, calcium, magnesium, etc.), and toxic metals (in particular, by manganese, lead, nickel) in levels, which significantly exceed respective maximum permissible concentrations for drinking water. Discharge of contaminated groundwater to Konoplyanka River, a tributary of the Dnieper, caused the increase of the total dissolved solids in river water (especially of the sulfate ion concentration), as well as uranium-234, 238. The geochemical modeling suggests that uranium-234, 238 migrates from tailings in the form of mobile carbonate and sulfate complexes, which is promoted by predominantly oxidizing hydrochemical conditions in the aquifer. The transport of manganese and lead to surface waters was likely limited by the redox barrier in «groundwater — surface water» system. It was also established that the flooded storm sewers at the territory of the PCHP industrial site acted as drains, and served pathways of facilitated transport of pollutants from the contaminant sources at the PCHP site (such as «Zapadnoe» tailings) to the Konoplyanka river. The presented studies show that along with the radioactive contamination, the chemical pollution of the hydrosphere by toxic elements and major ions is also of serious concern. Hydro-chemical monitoring of the PCHP industrial site has to be continued, the monitoring well network has to to be developed and the list of investigated chemical toxicants needs to be extended.

Study of the Behavior of Some Pollutants and the Vulnerability to Chemical Contamination of Groundwater in the Region of Ouargla (Southeast Algeria)

Over the recent years, the region of Ouargle has registered remarkable entropic and natural anarchy. This drastic evolution produced an important contamination of the shallow aquifer by pollutants. This region was being subjected to a large degree of vulnerability favorized by waste water discharges (domestic and irrigation). These factors expose the shallow aquifer water to a severe pollution. To assess this pollution, regular monitoring of water quality was conducted (February 2009, 2010, 2011 period). The obtained results show that the groundwater is non-potable for human consumption. Consequently a severe irrigation risk threatening plants and soil is then established. The determination of organic pollution index (OPI) has been evaluated by plotting its evolution map over the region of Ouargla. This study has enabled us repering the more vulnerable pollution site. In such environment the elimination of pollution sources becomes urgent.

Microbial and chemical contamination of groundwater around livestock mortality burial sites in Korea — a review

This review defines and discusses type and fate of microbial contaminants expected to be found in the groundwater around livestock mortality burial pits. Reported results from simulated and actual mortality burial pits indicate that decomposition process of animal carcass requires at least 2 years for completion, generating the leachate with very high concentrations of chemical pollutants. These chemical constituents are likely to provide substrate for bacterial growth and affect microbial population dynamics in the subsurface. Anticipated microbial pollutants are classified into 3 categories. (1) enteric microorganisms including disease causing viruses, (2) bacteria participating in carcass decomposition, such as proteolytic and lipolytic bacteria, and (3) endogenous soil microorganisms. Experimental and field data indicate that pathogenic enteric viruses and bacteria may be able to survive in the animal body and natural environments for extended periods of time when ambient conditions are suitable for their survival. Proteolytic bacteria may affect pathogenicity of avian influenza viruses by controlling their cellular attachment and infiltration. Pathogenic soil bacteria can experience shift in population dynamics, with the introduction of leachate chemicals, from attached bacterial community with limited size to exponentially growing suspended biomass accustomed to the conditions in the groundwater. The possibility of extended survival of various sources of microbial contamination indicates the need to set up a method to properly monitor groundwater contamination to identify the presence of microbial contaminants and their interaction with chemical constituents.

Microbiological and Physicochemical Quality of Well Water Used as a Source of Public Supply

The sources of microbial and chemical contamination of groundwater are numerous and have severe implications for public health. The objective was to determine the microbiological and physicochemical quality of wells in the west and east of the Cuautla-Yautepec aquifer in Mexico. Wells showed bacteriological contamination in at least one sampling. Coliform values were lower than the maximum permissible limit indicated in the Mexican Ecological Criteria of Water Quality (1000 colony forming unit (CFU)/100 ml of fecal coliforms) for supply sources. The number of isolated amoebae was low, but these were present all year round. Amoebae were found in 71.7% of the samples and belonged to 13 genera. The most frequent amoeba, Hartmannella, occurring in 44% of the samples, has been associated with eye and brain infection, but its role as a cause of infection has not been confirmed. A gradient was observed for dissolved solids according to altitude; the concentrations of dissolved solids increased in wells with lower altitudes. Total hardness values were above 180 mg/L CaCO3, therefore the water is considered very hard, and both carbonate and non-carbonate hardness was detected. The average values of physicochemical parameters were below the maximum permissible limits indicated in the Mexican official norm.

Water purification: from ancient civilization to the XXI Century

Ancient civilization valued the vital role of water in human life. As reflected in the literature, environmental awareness led to early water treatments and these are briefly described in this paper. Thus the period prior to 500 BC to 1000 AD saw the use of naturally occurring materials for water purification, the building of aqueducts, and the introduction of the distillation process. This was followed by a dormant period of five centuries in which hardly any progress was made in water purification methodology. From the 17th to the 19th century, progress was made on filtration processes and the introduction of the microscope. In addition chemical methods for water disinfection by the use of chlorine and ozone were reported. These methods and their combination progressed significantly through the 20th century. However the problems associated with chemical contamination of ground water, from which, drinking water is mainly generated remained practically ignored for about five decades. It was in the late seventies that this was brought to light. Since then technologies for groundwater purification started to emerge but a lot remains to be done in this area of research. The crucial role of suitable analytical tools for any technological development which aim to remove toxic pollutants from water is acknowledged. Thus the need of re-visiting old methodology making use of the advantages resulting from the availability of advanced analytical techniques and the possibility of enriching naturally occurring materials by the introduction of supramolecular receptors for water decontamination purposes are emphasized.

Two‐dimensional groundwater transport of reactive solutes with competitive adsorption

Chemical contamination of groundwater is typically associated with multicomponent solutions, the migration of which is affected by preferential adsorption and solution reactions. Transport models should, therefore, account for advection and dispersion and for the reactions in the solution and on the solid phase. The two‐dimensional model METLI has been developed for the personal computer (PC) simulation of groundwater transport with competitive adsorption of a three‐species system consisting of a metal, a ligand, and their dominant complex at a given pH. The model structure, which employs spatial and process splitting algorithms, is described. One‐ and two‐dimensional application examples are used to demonstrate how chemical reactivity and affinity for adsorption of a species, adsorption capacity of soil, and the number of the adsorbing species affect pollutant plumes in groundwater. The model executes rapidly on PCs using grids of several hundred nodes.

Risk‐Based Selection of Monitoring Wells for Assessing Agricultural Chemical Contamination of Ground Water

AbstractMonitoring of water supply wells has long been a responsibility of public health agencies. With the exception of large municipal water supply systems, most monitoring has been bacteriological, and sampling priority and frequency have been governed by the size of the water supply system. Current concerns about the health effects of agricultural chemicals has created a dilemma for public health agencies, because sampling costs for trace organic chemicals are much higher than for bacteriological parameters. A three‐level hierarchical strategy for jointly assessing contamination risk of water supply wells by agricultural chemicals, and prioritizing wells for sampling, is described. At the first level, a determination is made as to data needs and availability, monitoring objectives are defined, and the scope of the monitoring program is established. At the second level, risk or contamination susceptibility factors are identified, and algorithms for quantifying contamination risk as a function of the susceptibility factors are developed. At the third level, the algorithms are calibrated using pilot data, and an optimization scheme for prioritizing additional wells for sampling is developed based on either minimization of the aggregate health risk and risk uncertainty, or on information gained through sampling. The monitoring of Whatcom County, Washington, domestic wells for ethylene dibromide (EDB), a highly toxic soil fumigant whose registration was suspended in 1983 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is used as a case study for testing of Levels Two and Three of the hierarchy. In the case study, the initial data consisted of EDB concentrations and ancillary data, such as well depth and pumping rate, for 24 wells already sampled. Susceptibility factors were identified, and a Level Three algorithm was used to prioritize the next 10 wells from among 54 additional candidate wells for a second stage of sampling. The sensitivity of the monitoring well selection, and risk‐benefit tradeoff, are evaluated for different monitoring budgets, risk susceptibility parameters, and risk‐benefit tradeoff criteria.SummaryThe design of sampling programs for detection of agricultural chemicals in ground water is a difficult task. A review of ground water pesticide sampling programs that have been undertaken to date indicate that a lack of direction has existed in many past studies. This lack of focus generally has resulted from failure to clearly define sampling program objectives and to relate data collection priorities to those objectives. Even in California, where a very large sampling program for DBCP was undertaken (more than 8000 wells sampled), Holden (1986) reported that due to the lack of specific study objectives, the data obtained were limited in the scope of their applicability. In this paper, a methodology has been described that provides a framework for clear definition of objectives and data needs, enabling efficient design of sampling programs. The framework consists of a three‐level hierarchy. Once study objectives and data needs have been defined at the top level of the hierarchy, specific analytical methods are used (in the second level) to link well contamination probability to certain susceptibility factors and (in the third level) to select wells for sampling in a multistage sampling process.The methodology was applied to a specific problem, the contamination of drinking water in Whatcom County, Washington, by the pesticide EDB. The application study demonstrated the use of available data to estimate the probability of contamination for each well in the study area, and the use of such estimates to guide future sampling as part of a multistage, interactive sampling program. The proposed approach is generally applicable to the problem of ground water contamination by agricultural chemicals. Many pesticides and herbicides are currently of concern because of their potential presence in drinking water. Sampling programs currently being undertaken to study these problems could clearly benefit from structuring of the monitoring design decision process as proposed and demonstrated.

Anthropology and Environmental Problems in the U.S.: The Case of Groundwater Contamination

Chemical contamination of groundwater has become increasingly prevalent in the U.S. Once thought to be safe from pollution, the underground aquifers that supply drinking water to about half of the U.S. population are now known to be vulnerable to contamination from leaking landfills, waste lagoons, underground storage tanks, improper use of agricultural chemicals, and various industrial operations. Manufactured chemical compounds, including industrial degreasers and solvents, as well as gasoline, pesticides and fertilizers (in all, over 700 synthetic organic chemicals) have seeped down through the soil to the aquifers and been detected in ground water. Nearly every state has identified cases of contamination serious enough to require closing of some public or private supply wells.

New Technological Developments to Reduce Groundwater Contamination by Herbicides

Strategies to prevent chemical contamination of groundwater will be more effective and cost less than cleaning up groundwater. Advances in weed control technologies have improved timing of herbicide applications, have reduced application rates from kg/ha to g/ha, and have distributed herbicides better within the weed-crop complex. These technologies include microbial pesticides, controlled-release formulations, herbicide chemistry, improved integrated weed management systems, and bioeconomic weed-crop models that reduce herbicide use. These new technologies should reduce the quantity of herbicides used by farmers and lessen the chances of groundwater contamination.

Cultural Aspects of Environmental Problems: Individualism and Chemical Contamination of Groundwater

Cultural Aspects of Environmental Problems: Individualism and Chemical Contamination of Groundwater