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Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version. If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options. Environmental Impacts from Wind Erosion of Abandoned Mine LandsPublished by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org Citation: International Symposium on Erosion and Landscape Evolution (ISELE), 18-21 September 2011, Anchorage, Alaska 711P0311cd Paper #11036.(doi:10.13031/2013.39236)Authors: Larry D Stetler, James J Stone Keywords: Abandoned mine lands, Aeolian dust, Heavy metals, Wind tunnel, Radionuclide Sampling and analysis of aeolian dust originating from abandoned uranium mine lands in northwestern South Dakota has been used to map concentration and extent of heavy metals contamination on dust. Analytes of concern were uranium, uranium isotopes, and arsenic and to a lesser extent thorium, copper, and molybdenum. Sampling methodologies included using a portable wind tunnel, passive and aspirated aerosol samplers, and skimming dust from the surface soil. The study area consisted of numerous and small abandoned uranium mine site that extended over approximately 1000 km2 and were never remediated, leaving them exposed to often sever environmental degradation leading to potential offsite contamination. Climatic analysis indicated an entrainment wind speed of 21 km/h for the average soil conditions surrounding the abandoned mine sites. Wind speeds in excess of this threshold value occurred 23.2% of the time, but occurred 60% of the time the wind was from the dominant NW direction. Thus, sampling for determining aeolian signatures was concentrated in the NW-SE direction. Analytical techniques included ICP-MS performed at university and commercial laboratories, XRD, and SEM. Results were evaluated against an established background concentration value for each analyte derived from known non-impacted areas. Aeolian analytical results were plotted as functions of the dominant NW wind direction and topography and were compared to a larger, regional-scale database that included surface soil, surface water, and groundwater samples. Additionally, a proof-of-concept study was performed that evaluated the validity of using alternative dust sampling techniques including skimming surface soil from both within and outside of a wind tunnel trackway, and sieving a bulk soil sample using a 400 mesh sieve. These results showed that for the analytes of concern, no significant differences in concentrations were detected between the wind tunnel results and those from the alternate sampling methods. This allowed a greater flexibility in available sampling methods and provided a valid means for sample collection in areas the wind tunnel could not reach. Results from the aeolian-portion of the study indicated extremely low concentrations of metals existed in the soil dust with a background uranium concentration of 0.74 mg/kg, a value 30 times less than background uranium concentration in soil. Overall, metals concentrations in the soil dust were most likely natural constituents of in-situ soil-forming processes and not derived from aeolian processes originating from the abandoned mine sites. (Download PDF) (Export to EndNotes)
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