Caution to use Fly Ash for Sustainable Development

摘要

Sustainable development is one, which meets the needs of the present without compromising thernability of the future generations to meet their own needs. The phenomenal accumulation of fly ashrnis posing a serious problem to the environment. While globally the geotechnical engineers arernmaking effort to reduce this waste disposal by developing the technology to use it for variousrnconstruction purposes, they are also looking into its impact on environmental pollution. The mainrnfactor contributing to groundwater pollution by fly ash is its chemistry which in turn depends uponrnmany factors. In this paper, the use of Botswana fly ash as a construction material for road basesrnand structural fills and its impact on ground water pollution have been presented. Reports fromrnMorupule Power Station indicate groundwater pollution due to fly ash. The chemical analysis ofrnfly ash leachates in laboratory showed that the concentration of elements depends upon thernconcentration of fly ash in the suspension and is increased beyond the allowable limits forrndrinking water for higher concentration of fly ash. The laboratory tests indicated that the additionrnof fly ash to water would decrease the dissolved oxygen to a level hazardous to aquatic life. Thesernfindings suggest that a caution should be exercised while using fly ash as a construction materialrnfor road bases and structural fills where the leachates through fly ash are likely to pollute groundrnwater and in a water body for land reclamation where the fly ash would directly come in contactrnwith water.