The impact of a contaminated lignite seam on groundwater quality in the aquifer system of the Bitterfeld region - modeling of groundwater contamination

Until 1990 the Bitterfeld Region (Germany) was heavily polluted by mining, an obsolete chemical industry and the uncontrolled deposition of chemical wastes. The cessation of lignite-mining and open-pit drainage may result in a rise of the groundwater level followed by the mobilization of contaminant...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2000-09, Vol.122 (3-4), p.421-431
Main Authors: CHRISTOPH, G, DERMIETZEL, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Aquifer systems
Aquifers
Chemical industries
Chemical industry
Chemical wastes
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
Contaminants
Contamination
Diffusion
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Environmental monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Geology
Germany, Bitterfeld Region
Groundwater
Groundwater levels
Groundwater pollution
Groundwaters
Halogenated hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons
Hydrogeology
Lignite
Natural water pollution
Pollutants
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Quaternary
Seams
Sediments
Surface chemistry
Water quality
Water treatment and pollution
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Until 1990 the Bitterfeld Region (Germany) was heavily polluted by mining, an obsolete chemical industry and the uncontrolled deposition of chemical wastes. The cessation of lignite-mining and open-pit drainage may result in a rise of the groundwater level followed by the mobilization of contaminants, especially halogenated hydrocarbons. At a research area in Bitterfeld, highly mobile chlorinated hydrocarbons were detected in both groundwater and sediments. In particular, the pollutants were found to have penetrated a lignite seam separating the Quaternary and the Tertiary aquifers. The consequences of the present situation for the progressive groundwater quality of the quaternary aquifer are assessed by means of hydrodynamic modeling using the groundwater simulation program FEFLOW. Starting from the results of the preliminary investigations and adjusting the relevant hydrogeological parameters for diffusion, dispersion, adsorption and initial pollutant distributions, various scenarios were modeled and discussed. It was shown that the impact of a diffusion-controlled scenario on groundwater quality can be neglected, and that only the reversal of the advective vertical direction of flow from the lower seam border to the surface will result in a significant deterioration of groundwater quality.
ISSN:0049-6979
1573-2932
DOI:10.1023/A:1005229212658