Migration of Hazardous Substances Through Soil. Part 2. Determination of the Leachability of Metals from Five Industrial Wastes and Their Movement within Soil

摘要

Samples of industrial wastes from the electroplating, inorganic pigment, nickel-cadmium battery, water-base paint, and chlorine production industries were characterized as to their composition, toxic metal content, and leaching characteristics using serial batch extractions and continuous flow columns. Distilled water was used as one solvent to simulate rainwater or ground water and municipal landfill leachate was used to simulate the effects of mixing industrial and municipal refuse in the same disposal site. The metal content of the waste leachate was measured before and after contact with the soil. The soils used were: Davidson, Chalmers, Nicholson, Anthony, and Kalkaska. The metals of interest were: cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead, nickel, and zinc. The concentration of metals in waste and soil leachate were compared to published drinking water standards. It was found that the nickel-cadmium battery waste was extremely soluble and both water and municipal landfill leachate released extremely high concentrations of nickel and cadmium. These metals rapidly penetrated soil columns and would overwhelm the attenuation capacity of the soils underlying a disposal site.