Assessing risk and potential reuse of hard rock mine drainage passive treatment residual solids

McCann, Justine

Assessing risk and potential reuse of hard rock mine drainage passive treatment residual solids

dc.contributor.advisor	Nairn, Robert
dc.contributor.author	McCann, Justine
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Knox, Robert
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Sabatini, David
dc.date.accessioned	2021-08-03T13:13:16Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-03T13:13:16Z
dc.date.issued	2021-08
dc.date.manuscript	2021-08-02
dc.description.abstract	Ecologically engineered mine drainage passive treatment systems rely on a series of biogeochemical reactions to decrease concentrations of ecotoxic trace metals and have proven to be an effective way to improve water quality in watersheds impacted by mining, especially in areas where access or funding is limited. Passive treatment systems require minimal regular maintenance, but occasional rehabilitative maintenance is necessary to ensure continued efficacy of the systems. These efforts include addressing residual solids by removal of iron oxyhydroxides from oxidation ponds and replacing of spent organic material from vertical flow bioreactors. In this study, iron oxyhydroxides and organic materials from two passive treatment systems located in the Tar Creek Superfund Site in the Tri-State Lead-Zinc Mining District were examined for total and leachable trace metals concentrations. The USEPA’s toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP), as well as the USGS’s field leach test (FLT), were performed to evaluate the leachability of arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese, nickel, zinc, and other trace metals from the residual solids. Biochar, municipal biosolids, and coal combustion residuals (CCR) were added to the solids to attempt to increase metals sorption and decrease leaching. The leachate produced from TCLP tests did not exceed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act limits for any of the contaminants of concern, but SPLP and FLT leachates did exceed some guidelines from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The addition of biochar, biosolids, and CCR did not decrease leaching of metals and in some cases increased leaching of contaminants of concern. Although it is not necessary to dispose of the mine drainage residual solids examined in this study in a hazardous waste repository, further research is necessary to determine the feasibility of reuse of the solids in subaqueous or subaerial environments.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/330174
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Environmental Sciences.	en_US
dc.subject	Geochemistry.	en_US
dc.subject	Environmental Engineering	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Master of Environmental Science	en_US
dc.title	Assessing risk and potential reuse of hard rock mine drainage passive treatment residual solids	en_US
ou.group	Gallogly College of Engineering::School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science	en_US