The Challenge of Remediating Chromium-Contaminated Soil

摘要

Developing health-based cleanup standards and remediation strategies for chromium-contaminated soils based on the hexavalent forms of this heavy metal is a complex and controversial task. A major effort to address chromium contamination is currently under way in Hudson County, N.J. More than two million tons of chromate-bearing slag were used as fill from the early 20th century until the early 1970s (1) in what is now a populous urban and industrial area just west of New York City. This slag, known as chromite ore processing residue (COPR), was typically used as general fill material for voids or to create usable land from lowland areas. Chromium in COPR-enriched soils is principally insoluble Cr(Ⅲ), with variable concentrations of soluble and insoluble forms of Cr(Ⅵ) ranging from negligible to > 20 grams per kilogram (g/kg).