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PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
(Updated 9/07/99)
OUTLINE
ACID-FORMING MATERIAL NEUTRIALIZATION
ACID-MINE DRAINAGE .
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS IN COAL AND FLY ASH: ABUNDANCE, FORMS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL
SIGNIFICANCE. US Geologic Survey. 1997.
SURFACE WATER QUALITY
SOILS AND PLANT GROWTH
COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUES AS SOIL AMENDMENTS: SURFACE COAL MINING Korcak, R.F.
1996.
BORON UPTAKE AND ACCUMULATION BY HIGHER PLANTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW. Sposito,
Garrison. 1988.
ABSTRACTS AND LOCATION
Korcak, R.F. 1996. Coal Combustion Residues as Soil Amendments:
Surface Coal Mining. IN Proceedings of Coal Combustion By-Products Associated with Coal
Mining: Interactive Forum. SIU Carbondale, October 29-31, 1996. p 143-152.
Coal combustion by-products have received increased attention as possible soil amendments
and/or as substitutes for normal agricultural amendments such as limestone and gypsum.
However, there remain a number of concerns with their widespread use. These concerns
include elevated trace element loadings to soils, especially for arsenic (As), selenium
(Se), molybdenum (Mo), boron (B), and increases in soil soluble salts. Several issues such
as determination of application rates, long term effects of induced calcium (Ca):magnesium
(Mg) imbalances from application of high Ca by-products, and clarification of beneficial
utilization versus disposal, need to be understood. This report examines these current
concerns and issues in regards to the use of conventional fly ashes, oxidized flue gas
desulfurization (FGD) residues, and fluidized bed combustion (FBC) residues. The concept
of co-utilization of by-products is introduced and discussed as well as the need to
consider cropping systems an site management in reclamation of surface mined areas.
Ordering Info: Kimery Vories, Office of Surface Mining, 501 Belle Street, Alton,
IL 62002, (618) 463-6463 x 103, FAX (618) 463-6470, email: kvories@osmre.gov
Interlibrary Loan Request: Debbie McGinnis, Office of Surface Mining, 1999
Broadway, Denver, CO 80202-5733, (303) 844-1436, FAX (303) 844-1545, email: dmcginni@osmre.gov
Sposito, Garrison. 1988. Boron Uptake and Accumulation by Higher Plants:
a Literature Review. EPRI EA-5817 Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA. 52 pp.
This study provides a review of the literature on boron uptake and accumulation by higher
plants, particularly trees. It addresses those aspects of the soil chemistry of boron that
are most relevant to uptake by trees, then discusses the plant biochemistry of boron, its
uptake and accumulation in plant tissue, and its phytotoxicity symptoms in plant species.
The literature reviewed suggests that boron uptake is accomplished by a passive, mass-flow
mechanism, as opposed to a metabolic process, with the most likely chemical form taken up
being the neutral complex, H3BO3o. The biochemical role
of boron is not well understood, but evidence exists for its involvement with carbohydrate
transformations and the control of growth-regulating compounds. Because of the mass-flow
uptake mechanism, the distribution of boron in trees is connected intimately with the
patterns of transpiration, which are species-dependent. Precise data on the effect of
plant genotype on boron uptake, however, were not found in the published literature.
The phytotoxicity symptoms of boron in trees also are species-dependent, although a
consensus does exist as to the general nature of external symptoms and the basis of boron
tolerance. This consensus has made possible the relative ranking of a few tree species
with respect to tolerance. No species trends, however, are apparent in regard to boron
accumulation and toxicity symptoms.
This literature review makes clear the need for additional research in several areas, most
notably, long-term field studies of boron biogeochemistry in land areas located in the
immediate vicinity of residue disposal units; detailed studies of the relative tolerance
of native and non-native trees in coal ash-impacted soils; and determinations of absolute
toxicity thresholds for boron in tolerant species of trees. Field studies will be needed
to establish the relation between boron activity in the soil solution and uptake/removal
rates by plant roots.
Ordering Info:
Interlibrary Loan Request: Debbie McGinnis, Office of Surface Mining, 1999
Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO 80202-5733. (303) 844-1436; fax (303) 844-1545; email: dmcginni@osmre.gov
U.S. Geologic Survey. 1997. Radioactive Elements in Coal and Fly Ash:
Abundance, Forms, and Environmental Significance. Fact Sheet FS-167-97.
In summary, radioactive elements in coal and fly ash should not be sources of alarm.
The vast majority of coal and the majority of fly ash are not significantly
enriched in radioactive elements, or in associated radioactivity, compared to common soils
or rocks. The location and form of radioactive elements in fly ash determine the
availability of elements for leaching during ash utilization or disposal. Existing
measurements of urainium distribution in fly ash particles indicate a unIAOrm distribution
of uranium throughout the glassy particles. The apparent absence of abundant,
surface-bound, relatively available uranium suggest that the rate of release of uranium is
dominantly controlled by the relatively slow dissolution of host ash particles.
Previous studies of dissolved radioelements in the environment, and existing knowledge of
the chemical properties of uranium and radium can be used to predict the most important
chemical controls, such as pH, on solubility or uranium and radium when fly ash interacts
with water. Limited measurements of dissolved uranium and radium in water leachates
of fly ash and in natural water from some ash disposal sites indicate that dissolved
concentrations of these radioactive elements are below levels of human health concern.
Ordering Info: Available on the Internet at: http://energy.cr.usgs.gov:8080/energy/factshts/163-97/FS-163-97.html
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U.S.
Office of Surface Mining, Mid-Continent Region
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