Metal Concentrations in Leachate from Residential Burn Barrel Ash, Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Arturo, Ian A.
Date Issued
May 4, 2014
Abstract
An estimated 28% of US rural residences burn their own waste, though few studies have assessed potential impacts and most have focused on air emissions. Burn barrel ash (BBA) samples from residences across Crawford County were run through a modified Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP). Leachate was analyzed for metals using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (flame AAS). Mean leachate metal concentrations were higher for residences that burn mixed waste (MX) versus paper/cardboard (PC) with the exception of chromium, which was below the method detection limit (MDL) for all sites. Strontium was detected in leachate from every MX site (x = 1.26 mg/L) and PC site (x = 0.22 mg/L). The mean detected zinc concentration was 0.13 mg/L and 0.023 mg/L for MX and PC sites respectively. Manganese and copper concentrations were below MDL at all PC sites and for all but one manganese (x = 0.11 mg/L) and one copper (x = 0.037 mg/L) MX site. Only manganese concentrations from one site were above federal drinking water standards while none of the leachates had metal concentrations that exceeded hazardous waste threshold. Metal concentrations in the leachate suggest that BBA leachate is not of the same concern as leachate from other waste materials. Groundwater contamination is unlikely because concentrations are low and various geochemical processes limit the downward transport of metals through the soil profile. However, land and organism contamination might be of concern, and air emissions from backyard burning are a known hazard. Future studies should increase the sample size and analyze more metals in both the ash and leachate.
Honors
Environmental Science, 2014
First Reader(s)
O'Brien, Rachel
Other Reader(s)
Waggett, Caryl E.
Department
Environmental Science
Type of Publication
Senior Project Paper
Subjects
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Name
2013_2014_Arturo_Metal.pdf
Description
Ian Arturo Final Comp Submission
Size
2.24 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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