Recovery of contaminated wetland soils at the Savannah River Site by natural rainfall: An experimental, toxicological study

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6370432· OSTI ID:6370432

Loehle, C

This study was conducted at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Seepage basins at the SRS F-Area received liquid effluent from the 1950s to 1988. This effluent was typically acidic, containing high amounts of total dissolved ions, low levels of tritium and other radioactive elements, and trace levels of various heavy metals. Sodium (from NaOH), and aluminum (from soil matrix reduction due to acid leachate) were at particularly high levels in the outcropping water. The effluent gradually seeped down to the water table and subsequently outcropped along the edge of a forested wetland bordering Four Mile Creek. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the potential for natural remediation of contaminated wetland soils by rainfall. Contaminated soils were collected and leached repeatedly with rainwater. After 6 leachings the leachate was observed to be non-toxic to lettuce seedlings, whereas the initial leachate was very toxic. These results suggest that more detailed studies on leaching as a remediation technique would be beneficial. 6 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 6370432
• Report Number(s): WSRC-RD-90-14; ON: DE91004304; TRN: 91-000579
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LEACHATES
TOXICITY
SOILS
LEACHING
ALUMINIUM
CADMIUM
CONTAMINATION
GROUND WATER
LETTUCE
MANGANESE
NITRATES
RADIOISOTOPES
RAIN WATER
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SEEDS
SODIUM
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION
WETLANDS
ALKALI METALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
CHEMISTRY
DISPERSIONS
DISSOLUTION
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
FOOD
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
METALS
MIXTURES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
POLLUTION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VEGETABLES
WATER
540230* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540220 - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560160 - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology