Potential health effects of acid mine discharges to ground and surface waters in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5970613

Oleru, N T.O.

Heavy metal contamination presents one of the most potentially dangerous and pernicious forms of environmental pollution. Metalliferous mining and its wastes, especially from abandoned sites, are a major source of metal pollution. The Picher Field is an abandoned mine site located in Ottawa and Cherokee Counties of Oklahoma and Kansas. Acid mine discharge from the Picher Field has substantially reduced the water quality of Tar Creek, the major surface drainage, and underlying aquifers in Ottawa County. State and Federal activities in the area identified the magnitude of the environmental problem but there was no means to comprehensively quantify the magnitude of its public health impacts. A major purpose of this study was to develop risk assessment models which could predict adverse health impacts of cadmium, lead, chromium, copper, and zinc, the most common contaminants in acid mine drainage. Using data on specific populations at risk and data from the Tar Creek Task Force water quality monitoring program, risk assessment models were developed for cadmium, lead and copper. No groups at risk in the general population could be identified for chromium and zinc. In addition to being universally applicable, these models sucessfully predict potential public health impacts of heavy metal contaminants of mine drainage in Ottawa County. Furthermore, supportive evidence that the drinking water standards are not protective of all peoples all the time, was developed.

• OSTI ID: 5970613
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
016000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
520600 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Regulations -- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560306* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Man-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
CADMIUM
CHROMIUM
CONTAMINATION
COPPER
DRINKING WATER
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION VI
FEDERAL REGION VII
GROUND WATER
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
KANSAS
LEAD
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
OKLAHOMA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RISK ASSESSMENT
STANDARDS
SURFACE WATERS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
WATER
WATER QUALITY
ZINC