Collaborative Research: Tracing Coal Ash Solids in the Environment - Implications for long-term contamination of the aquatic ecosystem

合作研究：追踪环境中的粉煤灰固体——对水生生态系统长期污染的影响

• 批准号: 1932087
• 负责人: Ellen Cowan
• 金额: $ 8.82万
• 依托单位: Appalachian State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-03-01 至 2024-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1932087&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Tracing; Coal; Ash

Coal combustion residuals (known as coal ash) is the largest industrial solid waste generated in the U.S., with production rates of over 100 million tons per year. While some fraction of the generated coal ash is recycled, mostly for the cement industry, over half is stored in coal ash impoundments and landfills. Since coal ash contains high concentrations of heavy metals that are easily transported into water, the disposal of coal ash in leaky impoundments can damage the environment and water resources. Hurricane storms and large floods have been shown to cause spills of coal ash into Sutton Lake in eastern North Carolina and contamination of the lake ecological system. This NSF project seeks to detect coal ash contamination in sediments within different lakes throughout North Carolina and to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of coal ash in these lakes. The project will develop novel methods to detect coal ash in the environment. Understanding the potential occurrence of coal ash outside the major disposal sites and the ecological impact in the lakes is important for the communities living near coal ash ponds and the impacted lakes. The use of scientific methods to detect coal ash in the environment is important for an unbiased and scientific-base evaluation of the risks of coal ash to residents living in rural areas of North Carolina. The proposed study aims to collect sediments and pore water samples from lakes near major coal ash disposal sites in North Carolina in order to detect the presence of coal ash and its impact on the ecosystem. The study is based on developing novel geochemical and physical methods for tracing coal ash and its contaminants in the environment through integration of independent proxies for the presence of coal ash in the bottom sediments including trace metals distribution, strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr), lead stable isotopes (206Pb/208Pb, 207Pb/206Pb), radionuclides (228Ra, 226Ra, 210Pb, 137Cs), magnetic susceptibility, and magnetic granulometry. This reconnaissance study will investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of coal ash and contaminants likely introduced during extreme hydrologic events into lakes near coal ash storage impoundments in North Carolina. The study will also evaluate the mobilization of contaminants from coal ash solids into the ecosystem through leaching experiments and measurement of pore water from the lake bottom sediments. The objectives of the study are (1) to develop methods for identification of coal ash in sediments and associated contaminants in pore water extracted from lake bottom sediments; (2) to evaluate the magnitude of unmonitored coal ash spills in the impacted lakes; (3) to determine the residence time of sediments in lakes impacted by coal ash spills; and (4) to evaluate the long-term ecological effects that could result from unmonitored coal ash spills into lakes in North Carolina. The environmental legacy of coal ash is one of the emerging topics in the southeastern U.S. Leaking of coal ash ponds and spills have shown to have environmental effects on the quality of groundwater and surface water near coal ash disposal sites. The expected decommissioning of the operating coal-fired power plants during the next decade requires permanent solutions for the large volumes of coal ash commonly stored in coal ash impoundments near lakes and streams. The evidence of a coal ash spills to Sutton Lake has further raised public concerns about the environmental and human health safety. This NSF project will establish scientific-based criteria for environmental risks assessment associated with coal ash storage and management. Graduate and undergraduate students from Duke University, and undergraduate students from Appalachian State and Montclair State University will take active roles in the project. The results of the project will be used to construct a module on coal ash pollution to “Water on the Move”, a K-12 outreach program in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State. In addition to publication in scientific journals and presentation in professional conferences, the results of this project will be disseminated to the general public and communities living near coal ash impoundments and impacted lakes through press releases following scientific publication, communications with environmental NGOs working with the local communities, townhall meetings with communities at larger risks with direct dialogue with residents, a designated website and social media, communication and presentation of the results in federal (U.S. EPA, Congress) and state (NC House of Representatives) agencies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

煤炭燃烧残留物（称为煤灰）是美国产生的最大的工业固体废物，年产量超过一亿吨。虽然一部分产生的煤灰被回收，主要用于水泥工业，但超过一半被储存在煤灰蓄水池和垃圾填埋场。由于煤灰含有高浓度的重金属，这些重金属很容易进入水中，因此将煤灰处置在渗漏的蓄水池中会破坏环境和水资源。飓风风暴和大洪水已被证明会导致煤灰溢出到北卡罗来纳州东部的萨顿湖，并污染湖泊生态系统。这个NSF项目旨在检测整个北卡罗来纳州不同湖泊内沉积物中的煤灰污染，并评估这些湖泊中煤灰可能对环境造成的影响。该项目将开发新的方法来检测环境中的煤灰。了解煤灰在主要处置场以外的潜在发生以及对湖泊的生态影响，对于生活在煤灰池和受影响湖泊附近的社区至关重要。使用科学的方法来检测煤灰在环境中是很重要的一个公正的和科学的基础上的风险评估煤灰的居民生活在农村地区的北卡罗来纳州。 拟议的研究旨在收集沉积物和孔隙水样本，从附近的湖泊主要煤灰处置地点在北卡罗来纳州，以检测煤灰的存在及其对生态系统的影响。该研究基于开发新的地球化学和物理方法来追踪煤灰及其污染物在环境中的存在，通过整合底质沉积物中煤灰存在的独立指标，包括痕量金属分布，锶同位素比值，（87 Sr/86 Sr）、铅稳定同位素（206 Pb/208 Pb、207 Pb/206 Pb）、放射性核素（228 Ra、226 Ra、210 Pb、137 Cs）、磁化率和磁性粒度测定法。本勘察研究将调查煤灰和污染物的时空分布，这些煤灰和污染物可能在极端水文事件期间进入北卡罗来纳州煤灰储存蓄水池附近的湖泊。这项研究还将通过浸出实验和湖底沉积物孔隙水的测量，评估煤灰固体中污染物进入生态系统的情况。本研究的目的是：（1）开发沉积物中煤灰和湖底沉积物孔隙水中相关污染物的鉴定方法;（2）评估受影响湖泊中未监测煤灰溢漏的规模;（3）确定受煤灰溢漏影响湖泊中沉积物的停留时间;（4）确定沉积物中煤灰和沉积物的沉积时间。以及（4）评估未经监测的煤灰泄漏到北卡罗来纳州湖泊中可能造成的长期生态影响。 煤灰的环境遗产是美国东南部的新兴话题之一。煤灰池的泄漏和溢出已被证明对煤灰处置场附近的地下水和地表水的质量具有环境影响。预计在未来十年内，燃煤发电厂将退役，这需要永久解决大量煤灰的问题，这些煤灰通常储存在湖泊和河流附近的煤灰库中。煤灰泄漏到萨顿湖的证据进一步引起了公众对环境和人类健康安全的关注。该NSF项目将为与煤灰储存和管理相关的环境风险评估建立基于科学的标准。来自杜克大学的研究生和本科生，以及来自阿巴拉契亚州立大学和蒙特克莱尔州立大学的本科生将在该项目中发挥积极作用。该项目的成果将用于为阿巴拉契亚州地质和环境科学部的K-12外联方案“流动中的水”构建一个关于煤灰污染的模块。除了在科学期刊上发表和在专业会议上介绍外，该项目的成果还将通过以下方式传播给公众和生活在煤灰蓄水池和受影响湖泊附近的社区：科学出版后的新闻稿、与与当地社区合作的环境非政府组织的沟通、与风险较大的社区举行市政厅会议并与居民直接对话，一个指定的网站和社交媒体，在联邦（美国环保署，国会）和州（北卡罗来纳州众议院）机构中交流和展示结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

项目成果

Legacy of Coal Combustion: Widespread Contamination of Lake Sediments and Implications for Chronic Risks to Aquatic Ecosystems

煤炭燃烧的遗产：湖泊沉积物的广泛污染及其对水生生态系统慢性风险的影响

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04717
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Environmental Science & Technology
• 影响因子: 11.4
• 作者: Wang, Zhen;Cowan, Ellen A.;Seramur, Keith C.;Dwyer, Gary S.;Wilson, Jessie C.;Karcher, Randall;Brachfeld, Stefanie;Vengosh, Avner
• 通讯作者: Vengosh, Avner