1. Industrial waste as a source of surface and groundwater pollution for more than half a century in a sector of the Río de la Plata coastal plain (Argentina)
- Author
-
Lucía Santucci, Eleonora Silvina Carol, and Carolina Verónica Tanjal
- Subjects
Pollution ,SOIL ANALYSIS ,Environmental Engineering ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Coastal plain ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Rí DE LA PLATA ESTUARY ,Argentina ,Industrial Waste ,Aquifer ,HYDROCHEMISTRY ,010501 environmental sciences ,01 natural sciences ,Industrial waste ,Ciencias de la Tierra y relacionadas con el Medio Ambiente ,Groundwater pollution ,Environmental Chemistry ,Humans ,Groundwater ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,media_common ,Pollutant ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,MINERALOGY ,Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos Hídricos ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Environmental engineering ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry ,ANCIENT SULFURIC ACID INDUSTRY ,Environmental science ,Surface water ,CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS ,Water Pollutants, Chemical ,Environmental Monitoring - Abstract
Environmental liabilities have become one of the most important problems of the last years, especially those of contaminated sites located in urban areas which have been abandoned by pollution intensive industries. Such sites may contain hazardous materials that pose risks to human health and the environment. Industrial waste from the ancient sulfuric acid industry is scattered in a local area at the petrochemical pole in a sector of the Río de la Plata coastal plain. The aim of this work is to define the geochemical processes that determine the alteration of waste in the old sulfuric acid industry (OSAI) area and to study the migration of soluble pollutants to groundwater. A survey of soil and waste deposit was carried out and samples were examined by X-ray diffraction, under a scanning electron microscope and a polarizing microscope. Surface water and groundwater samples, both to the unconfined and semi-confined aquifers, were collected to determine electrical conductivity, pH and major elements. The results show the presence of minerals composed of sulfur associated with jarosite and iron oxides on superficial sediments. The detailed study of soil sediments together with that of the water physicochemical characteristics make it possible to understand the geochemical processes developed in soil that cause the high concentrations of sulfates in groundwater. Furthermore, high SO4 −2 concentration registered in the semi-confined aquifer due to its infiltration from the unconfined aquifer shows that the industrial pollution has an important impact at local level. These results may contribute to the understanding of chemical processes and pollutants distribution in highly industrialized coastal plain areas. Fil: Santucci, Lucía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; Argentina Fil: Carol, Eleonora Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; Argentina Fil: Tanjal, Carolina Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; Argentina
- Published
- 2018