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Optimizing Porewater Collection for Enhanced Risk Evaluation

Discover innovative techniques in porewater collection to improve risk evaluation methods. Presented at the 27th Alabama Water Resources Conference in Orange Beach by Jacob Gruzalski from Environmental Standards, Inc.

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Optimizing Porewater Collection for Enhanced Risk Evaluation

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  1. Porewater Collection and Risk Evaluation

    27th Alabama Water Resources Conference Orange Beach, AL Jacob Gruzalski Environmental Standards, Inc.
  2. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following individuals for their significant contributions and input: Dr. Bill Rogers - Tennessee Valley Authority Dr. Neil Carriker - Tennessee Valley Authority Mr. Rock Vitale - Environmental Standards, Inc. Mr. David Thal - Environmental Standards, Inc. Dr. James Markwiese - Environmental Standards, Inc. 2
  3. Objectives Define Porewater Reason for Porewater Collection and Analysis Importance of Proper Porewater Sampling Overview of Case Studies Conclusions 3
  4. Porewater Basics 4
  5. Sediment Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion and transported by wind, water, or ice. Sediment is comprised of an aqueous and solid phase. 5
  6. Porewater – Definition Porewater is the water filling the spaces between grains of the solid phase of sediment Sand, silt, and clay Porewater is the aqueous phase of sediment By definition porewater cannot exist separate from the solid phase of sediment in the environment 6
  7. Porewater – Ecological Significance Sediment porewateris aprimary exposure pathway of contaminants to the benthic community. These organisms then have the potential of introducing contaminants into the food chain (fish, aerial feeding birds). 7
  8. Pictorial Conceptual Site Model 8
  9. Why Analyze Porewater? 9
  10. Why analyze porewater? To collect complete information on sediment contamination Chemical concentration profiles in sediment porewater are widely used in studies and investigations into contaminant exposure, fate, and transport. To evaluate potential exposure pathways Bioavailable vs. Total Line of evidence in ecological risk assessments Toxicity testing 10
  11. Why analyze porewater? (cont.) An understanding of porewater in relation to sediment properties provides for the following: Complete picture of the exposure to the benthic aquatic environment; Comprehensive identification of contaminant sources and sinks and their extent; Prediction of contaminant flux across the sediment-water interface. 11
  12. Why analyze porewater? (cont.) Evaluating concentrations in porewater is important to differentiate bioavailability of the contaminant from total concentration of the contaminant in the sediment. This is possible only if porewater data truly reflects the in-situ conditions. Many sampling and processing techniques do not address the possibility of geochemical transformation during porewater collection and extraction. 12
  13. Porewater Collection 13
  14. Porewater Collection Collection and processing methods have the potential to cause geochemical changes to the porewater, primarily through oxidation. This oxidation can lead to biased results that do not accurately represent the natural conditions. Results can be biased to indicate both higher and lower concentrations compared to in-situ conditions. What does this mean? The collection and processing technique selected should be able to produce the most “realistic” data possible 14
  15. Ubatuba Bay, Brazil, River Study Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Ash Recovery Project Case Studies 15
  16. Ubatuba Bay, Brazil, River Study Aim of study to present results of chemical analysis of ammonium ions from porewater extracted in oxygen-free environment Sediment samples collected from four river estuaries on Ubatuba Bay in southeast Brazil Historically, rivers have received discharges of raw sewage 16
  17. Ubatuba Bay, Brazil, River Study (cont.) Six samples collected from each location and split into two groups One sample group processed in oxygen-free environment and other sample group exposed to the atmosphere 17
  18. Ubatuba Bay, Brazil, River Study (cont.) 18
  19. Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Ash Recovery Project (TVA KRP) December 22, 2008 Large release of fly ash spilled from containment area at the Kingston, TN, fossil plant in December 2008. Approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of ash released from containment area with the majority discharging into the Emory River. Two high flow storm events shortly after release 19
  20. TVA KRP In addition to the chemical constituents in fly ash (primarily metals – As, Se), this release also had the ecological impacts of large deposits of ash on the bottom of the river Fly ash removed from the Emory River by hydraulic and mechanical dredging Extensive sampling and monitoring program executed throughout the life of the project (ongoing) 20
  21. TVA KRP – Porewater Sampling Due to the nature of the project, multiple organizations are involved Porewater samples have been collected by TVA and third-party researchers Sampling occurred over multiple years at same general locations Multiple porewater sampling methodologies have been implemented 21
  22. As Porewater vs Total (sediment) Total As – Sediment (mg/kg) As Porewater (mg/L) 22
  23. As Sequential Extraction Procedure 23
  24. TVA KRP - Summary PW vs Total As concentrations between the collection methods suggest aerobic technique results in biased (high) data Sediments included in TVA study have little to no sulfides SEP data and previously published literature suggest Fe oxide is binding potentially bioavailable As. Exposure to atmosphere during processing releases As to the porewater 24
  25. Summary If porewater sample collection is planned, proper collection and processing methods are essential. The documented effects of oxidation of porewater during collection drives the need for collection and processing of porewater in oxygen-free environment. Improper sample collection can lead to biased data not reflective of in-situ conditions. Evaluating in-situ conditions needed to assess bioavailability of contaminants. 25
  26. QUESTIONS? 26
  27. Contact Environmental Standards, Inc. “Setting the Standards for Innovative Environmental Solutions” Headquarters 1140 Valley Forge Road | PO Box 810 | Valley Forge, PA 19482 | 610.935.5577 Virginia 1208 East Market Street | Charlottesville, VA 22902 | 434.293.4039 Tennessee 8331 East Walker Springs Lane, Suite 402 | Knoxville, TN 37923 | 865.376.7590 Texas 11200 Richmond Avenue, Suite 350 | Houston, TX 77082 | 281.752.9782 Web www.envstd.com | E-mail solutions@envstd.com 27
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