A simple and convenient empirical survey method with a soil electrical conductivity meter for incineration residue-derived soil contamination

Abstract

To facilitate fi eld surveys for identifying areas of incineration residue-derived soil contamination, a simple and convenient method with a soil electrical conductivity meter was examined. First, the leaching test specifi ed by Notifi cation No. 13 of the Ministry of the Environment, 1973, was conducted on 506 samples of 11 types of wastes and compost, and the relationship between the concentrations of toxic elements [total Hg (T-Hg), Cd, Pb, Cr 6+ , and As] and values of electrical conductivity (EC) was examined. The results showed that bottom ash and fl y ash were wastes with high EC values and that these wastes indicated higher levels of toxic elements. Second, an estimation method for the soil EC value of contaminated soil (ECc) was proposed based on the EC values of noncontaminated soil, and its usefulness was examined. The results of fi eld surveys conducted at sites whose soils were suspected of contamination by dioxins and other pollutants derived from incineration residues showed that the contaminated spots and areas were identifi ed by using ECc values. Moreover, comparison of the elemental contents of soils in terms of Cr, Ni, Zn, Na, K, Ca, Fe, Mn, and others, in addition to the above-mentioned toxic elements (excluding Cr 6+ ), with those of the potential sources of pollution was verifi ed to be effective for identifying the source of soil contamination.

Establishing allowable value of Electric Conductivity for monitoring groundwater based on the benchmark dose concept and its application

“…The most notable of the alternatives is the benchmark dose (BMD) suggested by Crump [2]. The BMD is defined as the lower 95% confidence bound on dose which results in some pre-specified level of risk.…”

“…Groundwater contamination, caused by low quality processing of sewage sludge and incineration ash, is regarded as a serious problem demanding a cost effective method for its monitoring. Recently a number of reports have proposed Electrical Conductivity (EC) as an effective technique to monitor pollutants [2,3]. Few however, have clearly determined the allowable limit of the EC value for groundwater polluted by sewage sludge leachate or incinerator ash.…”

Detection of land degradation caused by historical Zn‐Pb mining using electrical resistivity tomography

“…At present, geophysical surveys are correlated with detailed chemical and mineralogical studies (Mendecki et al, 2020; Nagamori et al, 2007; Warchulski et al, 2019), which permits the accurate and detailed interpretation of the areas under scrutiny.…”