Groundwater Contamination Research

     Keeping the pollution to a minimal isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. The major water pollutants are chemical, biological, or physical materials that

There has been contamination found in the groundwater surrounding all four towns. The groundwater is contaminated with VOCs, trichloroethene (TCE), ethylene dibromide (EDB), carbon tetrachloride (CCI4), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, vinal chloride, 1,1,2,2-TeCA, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, manganese, thallium, lead, toluene, and RDX. “Ethylene dibromide is especially worry some because it was found upwelling in cranberry bogs located in Falmouth and Mashpee (militarycontamination)”. Where it would was stored in the cranberries skin. “Falmouth being the most affected area losing twenty five percent of its possible drinking water supply (wr.usgs)”. Although the plumes are deep down in the aquifer. “People could be at risk if they accidentally drink the water or come into direct contact with the contaminated groundwater (militarycontamination)”. The way towns keep the residents from coming in contact with the possible risks of

There are three main mechanisms by which the chemical composition of groundwater, which is our natural source of drinking water, may be changed: by natural processes, by man's waste-disposal practices such as those for sanitary wastes, liquid industrial wastes, solid wastes, and radioactive wastes, and by spills, leaks, and agricultural activities and other sources unrelated to disposal. The degree of risk posed by contaminants varies according to many factors. These include the volume and toxicity of the contaminant, its concentration in the aquifer, its persistence in the environment, and the degree of human and environmental exposure to the contaminant. In addition, the number of persons affected, or likely to be affected, over time and the percentage of available groundwater both locally and regionally should be taken into consideration. If the contaminants in the groundwater exceed the standards set for drinking water by the federal government, for example, then the water is hazardous for the use for which it was designated under the standards. These standards include, however, only a limited number of chemicals, and thus they do not necessarily protect humans or the environment against either the short-term or the long-term effects of every contaminant that might be found in

individuals are affected by this issue. The once clean water in these wells is now polluted

It is easy person to point their finger at big industrial and chemical plants and blame them for the cause of so much pollution in our water. When taking a closer look, those same people pointing the finger are equally contributing to the pollution of our water supply and are also to blame. This person could be a friend, family member, classmate, or even you. Even if people do not think that they have a part in this, most do. A variety of data has shown traces of pharmaceuticals used by every day humans in our water. As well as pharmaceuticals there is a presence of chemical contaminants, mainly pesticides that are causing harm to our environment and wildlife. Even humans can be affected by such contamination in the water supply, and

These cleanups are required by federal and state laws passed in the last two decades mostly in response to public concern that drinking contaminated ground water may cause cancer or other illnesses. The laws require that, in most instances, the contaminated ground water be restored to a condition that meets state and federal drinking water standards. Businesses and government agencies paying for the cleanups are calling for reconsideration of whether returning all contaminated ground water to drinking water standards is a realistic goal. At the same time, public interest groups are advocating maximum protection of the public's right to a safe water supply in places where there is

Since I live in the Texoma area the majority of our drinking water comes from Lake Texoma. I think the three sources of groundwater contamination that might affect groundwater in my area would be human-made materials that are littered into the lake, agricultural activities, and human/animal wastes. There are a lot of people in the area who like to go fishing near the lake and drinking alcoholic beverages. These people throw their beer cans and all of their trash into the lake. They also urinate and defecate into the lake as well. There are many nearby farms and ranches to the lake and with all of the flooding water has run-off from these areas back into the lake.

The amended remedy is cost-effective because the costs are proportional to its overall effectiveness (see 40 CFR§ 300.430[f][l][ii][D]). Overall effectiveness was evaluated by assessing three of the five balancing criteria: long-term effectiveness and permanence; reduction in TMV through treatment; and short-term effectiveness. The overall effectiveness was compared to the alternative's costs to determine cost effectiveness. Even though the alternative remedy does not meet one of the balancing criteria (reduction in TMV through treatment), site contaminants, consisting of relatively low concentrations of TCE and cis-1,2-DCE in groundwater, are present only within the groundwater use restriction boundary. Concentrations of these contaminants are expected to naturally attenuate below their respective remedial goals before reaching the groundwater use restriction boundary. Overall, the relationship of the overall effectiveness was determined to be proportional to the costs and, therefore, represents a reasonable value for the money to be spent.

The health hazards for humans who come in contact with contaminants from exposure to polluted water can have long term effects on the body causing possible organ failure and death. Contaminants and chemicals such lead and mercury can bring about many minor illnesses ranging from nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, and dizziness, to the major diseases that include cancer, liver and kidney damage, disorders of the nervous system, damage to the immune system, birth defects and even death.

Groundwater pollution is a major problem that is growing in all over the world. Of course the united states America also facing this problem. People of Mississippi State are worried about groundwater pollution due to the several human activities. Groundwater is a main source of their water supply. Disposal of solid waste in landfills is an economic option for many municipalities in developing countries where alternatives like incineration and composting are costly. However, groundwater pollution from the leachate generated within the landfill and migrating through the bottom liner material into the underlying groundwater aquifers remains a major public health concern I studied chemical parameters of groundwater in Alcorn State University as a part of my project.

Everyday pesticides are dumped into our environment. Over time most of the pesticides make thier way to a source of water, whether it's groundwater or a body of water. According to Lewis Regenstein author of "America the Poisoned" two thirds of the nation's lakes have serious pollution problems. 80% of 3,700 urban lakes in the United States are destroyed. More than 94 million residents could use these lakes for recreational use or for a source of water (169). Cincinnati's drinking water contains about 700 chemicals. 90% of them did not exist 20 years ago. The main sources of most of these chemical pollutants are municipal sewage, industrial discharges, and runoffs from farming areas. There are also several other chemicals in America's drinking water. Although hazardous, there are approximately 60 chemicals that are mixed into water in the process of treating it. Unlike rivers or lakes, underground supplies are not processed at treatment plants before being used by humans. "More than one hundred million of our citizens depend in a whole or in part on underground as sources of drinking water (Beck qtd. in Regenstein 172). Once groundwater becomes contaminated, there is usually no way to clean it.

In Paul Dylan Hynds article it states that, “Groundwater contamination occurs as a direct result of human or animal waste ingress to Groundwater resources aquifers or wells” Most likely when man-made products such as gasoline, oil, road salts, and chemicals get into the groundwater. Pollutants are freed to the ground making their way or path down into the Groundwater. Overall, groundwater is very difficult to remediate, except when it is being remediated in small defined areas. As a result the importance of Groundwater has to be on the preventation of contamination. Protecting sensitive aquifers, having control of discharges, releases, provision of drainage, and sanitation systems to ward off pollution discharges. However, in small areas with

Groundwater pollution is a prominent problem in most areas of the world. High nitrate concentrations have been identified as one of the main culprits of groundwater pollution. Agriculture is a primary anthropogenic source involved in the spreading and distribution of nitrates in rural areas. China is considered one of the largest in terms of agricultural production. As the population of China increased over time, the recycling of plant nutrients could no longer renew the loss of nutrients from harvesting. The famine between 1960 and 1970 caused radical changes when it came to policies about population control and large efforts were made to increase agricultural yields. This was encouraged by increasing the application rate of chemical fertilizers, especially ones that were nitrogen based (Emteryd, Lu and Nykyist, 1998). However, higher irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer inputs results in decreased water and nitrogen use efficiency (Hu, Li, and Chen, 2010). Currently China is the leading producer of rice, wheat onion cabbage and the second largest producer of corn (See Appendix). Presently the average annual nitrogen fertilizer application is 200 kg N/ha in China (Zhang, Xu, XIaomin, Dong and Ballantine, 2013). As a result of this, China unsurprisingly suffers from large amounts of nitrate pollution in its groundwater, especially in northern China. The main focus of this paper will therefore be on the North China Plain and the provinces surrounding the Yangtze River as

Groundwater samples were collected and reported by Sultan et al. (2011) from Sinai for isotopic analyses of H and O from open and productive wells tapping three types of aquifers: (1) fractured basement, (2) Nubian Sandstone unconfined aquifer cropping out at the foothills of the basement outcrops, and (3) alluvial. They believed that the unconfined and alluvial aquifers fed by a fractured basement aquifer through discharging into the overlying sediments. The δD and δ18O isotopic compositions of the groundwater samples from the unconfined Nubian Sandstone aquifers in the recharge areas cropping out at the foothills of the basement outcrops are somewhat depleted (δD: -22.7 to -32.8‰; δ18O: -4.47 to -5.22‰) compared to those from fractured basement outcrops (δD: -19.9 to -23.2‰; δ18O: -3.77 to -5.05‰) and those from alluvial aquifers (δD: -22.7 to -23.4‰; δ18O: -4.53 to -5.01‰), but they are less depleted than those reported from the Gulf of Suez (Sturchio et al., 1996). The isotopic compositions of the samples from the fractured basement and alluvial aquifers are similar to those of average modern precipitation from Al Arish and Rafah (Fig. 3). The unconfined aquifer shows a mixing between fossil waters of the Western Desert, formed in pluvial period, and modern precipitation deposited in dry and warm climatic conditions (Sultan et al., 1997, 2011).

Interactions between groundwater and surface water are complex. Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution.[7] By its very nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to contamination from sources that may not directly affect surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs. non-point source may be irrelevant. A spill or ongoing releases of chemical or radionuclide contaminants into soil (located away from a surface water body) may not create point source or non-point source pollution, but can contaminate the aquifer below, defined as a toxin plume. The movement of the plume, a plume front, can be part of a Hydrological transport model or Groundwater model. Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on the soil characteristics and site geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, and the nature of the contaminants.