Vertical Distribution and Partitioning of Chromium in a Glaciof luvial Aquifer |
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| Authors: | Nikolaos P Nikolaidis Gary A Robbins Michelle Scherer Brian McAninch Gordon Binkhorst Jay Asikainen Steven L Suib |
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| Institution: | Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis;is assistant professor of civil engineering and research engineer of the Environmental Research Institute at the University of Connecticut (Department of Civil Engineering, University of Connecticut, Box U-37, Storrs, CT 06269). He received his Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Iowa. He conducts research in heavy metal site assessment and remediation, mathematical modeling, and nonpoint source pollution. Gary A. Robbins;is professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Connecticut (Department of Geology and Geophysics, Environmental Research Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269–3037). He received his Ph.D. in geology from Texas A&M University. His research interests include evaluating factors influencing the migration and dispersion of contaminants in ground water and developing field methods for screening volatile organic contaminants in soil water and soil gas. Michelle Scherer and Jay Asikainen;are M.S. students in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT 06269–3037). Brian McAninch and Gordon Binkhorst;are Ph.D. students in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT 06269–3037). Steven L. Suib;is professor of chemistry at the University of Connecticut (Department of Chemistry, Environmental Research Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269–3037). He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include surface chemistry of zeolyte catalysts;structural, electrical, and chemical properties of semiconductors;and characterization of solid-state systems using XPS and EPR techniques. |
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| Abstract: | The vertical distribution and partitioning (between the solid and aqueous phase) of chromium in a glaciofluvial aquifer in northeastern Connecticut were assessed. Most of the chromium (99 percent of its mass) is bound to the soil. Retardation is primarily the result of binding to organic matter and adsorption to iron oxide coatings. However, other attenuation mechanisms also appear to be significant. If the degree of chromium binding observed here is representative of other chromium contaminated sites, pump-and-treat remediation will not remove the vast amount of chromium from the subsurface. However, most of the chromium may be immobile, and removal may not be required following the initial pumping to remove the mobile fraction. Further knowledge of the mechanisms that bind chromium to the soil, their reversibility, and their kinetics is essential to developing effective remediation strategies. |
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