Chemical reactions of uranium in ground water at a mill tailings site

We studied soil and ground water samples from the tailings disposal site near Tuba City, AZ, located on Navajo sandstone, in terms of uranium adsorption and precipitation. The uranium concentration is up to 1 mg/l, 20 times the maximum concentration for ground water protection in the United States. The concentration of bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) in the ground water increased from ≤7×10⁻⁴ M, the background concentration, to 7×10⁻³ M. Negatively charged uranium carbonate complexes prevail at high carbonate concentrations and uranium is not adsorbed on the negatively charged mineral surfaces. Leaching experiments using contaminated and uncontaminated sandstone and 1 N HCl show that adsorption of uranium from the ground water is negligible. Batch adsorption experiments with the sandstone and ground water at 16°C, the in situ ground water temperature, show that uranium is not adsorbed, in agreement with the results of the leaching experiments. Adsorption of uranium at 16°C is observed when the contaminated ground water is diluted with carbonate-free water. The observed increase in pH from 6.7 to 7.3 after dilution is too small to affect adsorption of uranium on the sandstone. Storage of undiluted ground water to 24°C, the temperature in the laboratory, causes coprecipitation of uranium with aragonite and calcite. Our study provides knowledge of the on-site uranium chemistry that can be used to select the optimum ground water remediation strategy. We discuss our results in terms of ground water remediation strategies such as pump and treat, in situ bioremediation, steam injection, and natural flushing.     

ADMINISTRATION OF GROUND WATER AS BOTH A RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE RESOURCE1

ABSTRACT: Ground water is intended to be administered in many western states as a flow or renewable resource. In Idaho, this administration is based on the appropriation doctrine of water rights. Two generalizations may be made concerning ground water. First, water artificially discharged from an aquifer system must deplete the total resource by that amount; water consumptively pumped from a well must be derived from either increased recharge, decreased discharge or a decrease of water in storage. Second, the annual rate of recharge to a ground-water system is often only a small percentage of the total resource in storage. Ground water may be divided into flow and stock portions. In those basins where the second generalization is true, most ground water may be classified as stock. However, only the flow portion of ground water may be developed if utilization of the resource is to be enjoyed over an infinite period. Data from the Raft River Basin in Idaho indicate that the flow and stock characteristics of ground water are time dependent. The resource exhibits the characteristics of both a renewable and nonrenewable resource. As a result, present administrative techniques do not provide for effective management of the resource.     

Use of tracer tests to evaluate the impact of enhanced-solubilization flushing on in-situ biodegradation

Tracer tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of a complexing sugar flush (CSF) on in-situ biodegradation potential at a site contaminated by jet fuel, solvents, and other organic compounds. Technical-grade hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin was used during the CSF study, which was conducted in a hydraulically isolated cell emplaced in a surficial aquifer. In-situ biodegradation potential was assessed with the use of tracer tests, which were conducted prior to and immediately following the CSF study. Ethanol, hexanol, and benzoate were used as the biodegradable tracers, while bromide was used as a nonreactive tracer. The results indicate that the biodegradation of benzoate was similar for both tracer tests. Conversely, the biodegradation of ethanol (23% increase) and hexanol (41% increase) was greater for the post-CSF tracer test. In addition, analysis of core samples collected from within the test cell indicates that the population density of aerobic jet-fuel degraders increased in the vicinity of the injection wells during the CSF. These results indicate that the cyclodextrin flush did not deleteriously affect the indigenous microbial community. This study illustrates that tracer tests can be used to evaluate the impact of remediation activities on in-situ biodegradation potential.     

Effects of Tracking by Armored Vehicles on Townsend's Ground Squirrels in the Orchard Training Area, Idaho, USA

Spermophilus townsendii ) prey. These changes could occur directly or as a result of changes in the vegetation available as food and cover for the ground squirrels. We assessed the effects of long-term tracking by armored vehicles by comparing 9-ha areas in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) -dominated shrubsteppe and bluegrass (Poa secunda) -dominated grasslands subjected to low-intensity tracking for ∼50 years with others that had not been tracked. We did not detect any effect on ground squirrel population dynamics associated with long-term tracking. Although densities of adults and juveniles tended to be higher in the areas exposed to such tracking, we attribute this difference to other factors that varied spatially. To determine short-term (two-year) effects, we experimentally tracked two sagebrush and two grassland sites with an M-1 tank after animals had begun their inactive season. In the following two active seasons we monitored squirrel demography and behavior and vegetative characteristics on the experimentally tracked sites and compared the results with control sites. Although we experimentally tracked ∼33% of the surface of each of four sites where ground squirrel densities were assessed, the tracking had a detectable effect only on some herbaceous perennials and did not influence ground squirrel densities or behavior significantly during the subsequent two active seasons. We conclude that tracking after the start of the inactive season is likely to influence ground squirrel demography or behavior only if vegetation cover is substantially changed by decreasing coverage of preferred food plants or increasing the coverage of annual grasses and forbs that are succulent for only a short time each year.     

黄河中游河龙地区地质灾害及其治理策略

在前人研究成果与实地调查研究的基础上，对黄河中游河口镇-龙门口地区水土流失、土地沙漠化、崩塌、滑坡、泥石流及地面塌陷等地质灾害类型、特征、灾情、发展趋势进行了剖析，并根据环境现状，提出了治理灾害策略．     

森林地表火蔓延边界预测预报图形显示系统

地表火蔓延状况的预测预报是森林防火灭火工作中的一项重要技术。目前，国外在预测火场扩展边界的形状及分布时采用了火场椭圆面假设，当可燃物、地形或气象条件复杂变化时，预测结果偏差较大。本文从地表火蔓延的本质入手，建立起确定复杂地形、气象条件和可燃物分布情形下的火蔓延边界的数学模型，并借助于现代软件编制技术，成功地编制出预测预报地表火蔓延边界的图形显示系统，率先实现了对任意情形下火蔓延边界的合理、准确的估算。     

塔里木河干流流域地下水氟的分布特征及形成高氟地下水的环境因素

调查研究了塔里木河干流流域地下水中氟的含量水平及分布特征．揭示了地下水中氟与水化学性质之间的相互关系。探讨其形成高氟地下水的环境因素，并提出改水防病措施．     

常州市老城区水体有机污染分布特征及原因初探

为了老城区河道的合理整治,采用总有机碳（TOC）分析仪对常州市老城区3条河流及区域内浅层地下水的14个采样点水样进行3个月的总有机碳含量检测。老城区水环境受到不同程度的有机污染,某些地下水的TOC含量高于地表水,原因为地表水补给地下水,且老城区水体污染源主要来源于周边地区的生活污水,并受到关河、雨水等的影响,这为常州市老城区水污染治理提供了依据。     

Organochlorine pesticide residues in ground water of Thiruvallur district, India

Modern agriculture practices reveal an increase in use of pesticides and fertilizers to meet the food demand of increasing population which results in contamination of the environment. In India crop production increased to 100% but the cropping area has increased marginally by 20%. Pesticides have played a major role in achieving the maximum crop production, but maximum usage and accumulation of pesticide residues was highly detrimental to aquatic and other ecosystem. The present study was chosen to know the level of organochlorines contamination in ground water of Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The samples were highly contaminated with DDT, HCH, endosulfan and their derivatives. Among the HCH derivatives, Gamma HCH residues was found maximum of 9.8 μg/l in Arumbakkam open wells. Concentrations of pp-DDT and op-DDT were 14.3 μg/l and 0.8 μg/l. The maximum residue (15.9 μg/l) of endosulfan sulfate was recorded in Kandigai village bore well. The study showed that the ground water samples were highly contaminated with organochlorine residues.     

地下水有机污染调查采样精密度评估方法探讨

对国际标准化组织(ISO)在《水样采集与处理的质量控制指南》中提出的采样精密度控制方法不完全适用于地下水有机污染调查评价工作的部分进行了分析。在华北平原地下水有机污染调查评价工作的基础上,探讨了一种改进的采样精密度控制与评估方法,提高相关工作的质量控制水平。