The impact of contaminated land on groundwater quality in the Wolverhampton conurbation (UK)

摘要

Wolverhampton (UK) is typical of many worked out coalfields associated with heavy industries that have left a legacy of contaminated soils due to the uncontrolled disposal of waste materials. As a result of the rapid decline of heavy industry and mining, groundwater abstraction has decreased drastically and the concern arises that contaminants may come into contact with the rising water table with the potential to contaminate a major aquifer. Soil samples from sites encompassing a range of typical land uses have been characterized in detail and also subjected to a series of standard and non-standard leaching tests. It has been found that although a large proportion of the samples contain high levels of contaminants they tend not to be leachable when subjected to a wide range of leaching conditions and potential leachants, and therefore can be considered to pose a low hazard to groundwater quality.