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: 1932649
• 负责人: Avner Vengosh
• 金额: $ 22.73万
• 依托单位: Duke 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 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1932649&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.

煤燃烧残渣（即煤灰）是美国产生的最大的工业固体废物，年产量超过1亿吨。虽然产生的煤灰中有一部分被回收利用，主要用于水泥工业，但一半以上被储存在煤灰蓄水池和垃圾填埋场。由于煤灰中含有高浓度的重金属，容易进入水中，因此在有渗漏的水库中处理煤灰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泄漏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项目旨在检测北卡罗莱纳州不同湖泊沉积物中的煤灰污染，并评估这些湖泊中煤灰可能对环境的影响。该项目将开发检测环境中煤灰的新方法。了解主要排土场外煤灰的潜在分布及其对湖泊的生态影响，对居住在煤灰池和受影响湖泊附近的社区具有重要意义。使用科学的方法检测环境中的煤灰对于公正和科学地评估北卡罗来纳州农村地区居民的煤灰风险非常重要。拟议的研究旨在从北卡罗来纳州主要煤灰处理场附近的湖泊收集沉积物和孔隙水样本，以检测煤灰的存在及其对生态系统的影响。本研究的基础是开发新的地球化学和物理方法，通过整合底层沉积物中煤灰存在的独立代理，包括微量金属分布、锶同位素比率（87Sr/86Sr）、铅稳定同位素（206Pb/208Pb、207Pb/206Pb）、放射性核素（228Ra、226Ra、210Pb、137Cs）、磁化率和磁粒度测定，来追踪环境中的煤灰及其污染物。这项调查研究将调查在极端水文事件期间可能引入北卡罗来纳州煤灰储存库附近湖泊的煤灰和污染物的时空分布。该研究还将通过浸出实验和湖底沉积物孔隙水的测量来评估煤灰固体污染物进入生态系统的动员情况。本研究的目的是：(1)建立沉积物中煤灰和湖底沉积物孔隙水中相关污染物的识别方法；(2)评价受影响湖泊中未监测的煤灰泄漏程度；(3)确定煤灰外溢影响下湖泊沉积物的停留时间；(4)评估未监测的煤灰泄漏到北卡罗莱纳州湖泊可能造成的长期生态影响。煤灰的环境遗产是美国东南部新兴的话题之一，煤灰池泄漏和泄漏已经显示出对煤灰处理场附近地下水和地表水质量的环境影响。预计在今后十年内，正在运行的燃煤电厂将停止运行，因此需要对通常储存在湖泊和溪流附近的煤灰蓄水池中的大量煤灰采取永久性的解决办法。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。国家科学基金会的这个项目将建立与煤灰储存和管理有关的环境风险评估的科学标准。杜克大学的研究生和本科生，以及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系的一项K-12外展方案“流动中的水”建立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，该项目的结果还将通过科学出版物后的新闻稿、与与当地社区合作的环保非政府组织的沟通、与风险较大的社区直接对话的市政厅会议、指定的网站和社会媒体等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。在联邦（美国环境保护局，国会）和州（北卡罗来纳州众议院）机构中沟通和介绍结果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

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