Ground water pollution potential

Jury, W.A., Focht, D.D., Farmer, W.J. (1987b) Evaluation of pesticide ground water pollution potential from standard indices of soil-chemical adsorption and biodegradation. J. Environ. Qual. 16(4), 422 -28. 

Apoar, M. a., and D. Langmuir. 1971. Ground water pollution potential of a landfill above the water table. Ground Water 9 76-96. 

This paper presents a standardized system which can be used to evaluate the ground-water pollution potential of any hydrogeologic setting in the United States. The system has been designed to use information which is available through a variety... 

Some Existing Systems Which Evaluate Ground-Water Pollution Potential... 

It is defined as a mappable unit with common hydrogeologic characteristics, and as a consequence, common vulnerability to contamination by introduced pollutants. From these factors it is possible to make generalizations about both ground-water availability and ground-water pollution potential. 

Inherent in each hydrogeologic setting are the physical characteristics which affect the ground-water pollution potential. Many different biological, physical and chemical mechanisms may actively affect the attenuation of a contaminant and, thus, the pollution potential of that system. Because it is neither practical nor feasible to obtain quantitative evaluations of intrinsic mechanisms from a regional perspective, it is necessary to look at the broader parameters which incorporate the many processes. After a complete evaluation of many characteristics and the mappability of the data, the most important mappable factors that control the ground-water pollution potential were determined to be ... 

Once a DRASTIC Index has been computed, it is possible to identify areas v/hich are likely to be susceptible to ground water contamination relative to one another. The higher the DRASTIC Index, the greater the ground-water pollution potential. The DRASTIC Index provides only a relative evaluation tool and is not designed to provide absolute answers. 

This paper summarizes the efforts to produce a standardized system to evaluate ground water pollution potential. The project was designed to span two years. During the first year, the methodology was developed with the help of an advisory committee. 

A Standardized System for Evaluating Ground Water Pollution Potential Using Hydrogeologic Settings" USEPA No. 600/2-85/... 

Aller, L, et al. (1985). Drastic, A Standard System for Evaluating Ground Water Pollution Potential Using Hydrogeologic Setting, USEPA, R. S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA/60012-851018. Ada, OK. 

Canter, L. W. (1985). Methods for assessment of ground water pollution potential. In Ground Water Quality (C. H. Ward, W. Giger, and P. C. McCarty, eds.), pp. 270-306, J. Wiley, New York. 

An alkaline aquatic work-up with KOH precipitates dipotassium l,l -dinitrami-no-5,5 -bistetrazolate. The products of the individual stages can be purified by recrystallization, or used as obtained. No column chromatography must be used. Fortunately K2DNABT shows low water solubility, which (i) facilitates its isolation and purification and (ii) avoids future toxicity problems due to potential ground water pollution. 

Chromium is a common anthropogenic contaminant in surface waters, therefore Cr isotope fractionations are of potential interest in tracking Cr + pollution in groundwaters. Ellis et al. (2002, 2004)) and Izbicki et al. (2008) analyzed ground-water samples from contaminated sites and observed an increase in Cr/ Cr ratios up to 6%c during the reduction of chromate. Equilibrium fractionations between Cr(VI) and Cr (III) have been estimated by Schauble et al. (2002), who predicted Cr isotope fractionations >l%c between Cr species with different oxidation states. 

Surface Water Pathway. The surface water pathway of DPM rates the potential for contaminants from a waste site to enter surface waters via overland flow routes, or from ground water discharge to surface water. If pollutants are not directly observed in surface water, but are present in sediments or soil, there is a potential for surface water contamination so it is necessary to collect information from which their likelihood to reach a receptor can be estimated. The following variables are scored to provide an indication of this exposure potential ... 

Ground Water Pathway. The ground water pathway ranks the potential for pollutant exposure to occur from contaminated ground water. If actual ground water contamination has not been detected, but there is contamination in soil or surface water, there is a potential for ground water contamination to occur in the future. The following factors are scored to obtain a ground water pathway score ... 

In economic terms, the cost of fuels does not include the externalities of health effects due to urban air pollution, oil spills, ground water contamination, the military cost of defending oil, and, most important, the potential risks of major climate change. Put another way, society has a very high discount rate—we discount any adverse effects that occur in the future. 

It has been assumed that the reader has only a ba ic knowledge of hydrogeology and the processes which govern grounc-water contamination. This methodology is neither designed nor intended to replace on-site inspections. Rather, it is intended to provide a basis for comparative evaluation of areas with respect to potential for pollution of ground water. 

---