Physical conditions, ground water environment

The ground-water environment is quite variable in its physical conditions of ground-water distribution, occurrence and flow. What was considered a sterile environment, devoid of oxygen, is known to contain dissolved oxygen and considerable microbial biomass (1). Distributions of... 

The physical and chemical characteristics of these ashes, combined with the operational parameters of the power plant and the disposal environments in which the ashes are placed, control the leaching susceptibility of these wastes and determine the potential for contamination to ground-water aquifers. Little information is known on the effect of coal ash leachates on groundwater quality (Theis, 1975 Theis et al., 1978, 1979). This paper discusses the concentrations of selected elements that can be expected to be released under ash disposal conditions, as simulated by laboratory experiments. 

Diatomic chlorine (CI2) is a gas xmder ambient conditions, with a pungent, suffocating odor. Because its vapor density is twice that of air, chlorine forms a greenish-yellow cloud near the ground upon release into the environment (Haynes et al., 2013 O Neil et al., 2013). The CI2 odor detection threshold is approximately 0.2-0.4 ppm, with considerable variation among humans, although odor perception tends to decrease over time (NIOSH, 1976 ATSDR, 2010). Chlorine gas is slightly water-soluble (-4.4 g/L O Neil et al., 2013), but it reacts quickly with water to form hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Selected chemical and physical properhes of CI2 are listed in Table 24.1. 

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