Arsenic Distribution In Soil Profiles Amended With Coal Combustion By-Products
Date
1995-04Author
Kukier, Urszula
Ishak, Che Fauziah
Sumner, Malcolm E.
Miller, William P.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Combustion of coal in the generation of
electric power produces large quantities of waste ash that
is typically landfilled or stockpiled on site. This material
may be applied to agricultural land, thereby avoiding
disposal costs, if no adverse environmental consequences
result. Several trace elements such as arsenic, boron, and
selenium have been found in high concentrations in some fly
ashes. In this study, fly ash and a desulfurization gypsum byproduct
produced by power plants were applied to two soils
in the field at rates of 20 int/ ha, both singly and in mixture.
Soybean followed by corn was grown on the plots, and
soils sampled with depth at the end of the second season
and analyzed for extractable arsenic (As).
Arsenic was found to be quite immobile in both soils
studied as assayed by acid extraction, although more mobile
in the sandier Lakeland than in the Cecil soil. Extractable
As in Cecil soil was not different on amended plots vs.
controls due to the high pesticide-derived As levels. In
sandier Tifton soils, fly ash tended to increase extractable
As in topsoils above control levels, but low levels (< 100
ppb) were found below 50 cm depth. Desulfurization
gypsum added much less As to soils than did fly ash. We
conclude that on very sandy soils, some increase in As
availability and leaching potential may occur with high
loadings of fly ash materials; plant uptake studies are
underway to assess the magnitude of this effect.