Superfund Research Program
Prediction and Properties of Airborne Dust Arising from Mining Sites
Project Leader: A. Eduardo Saez
Co-Investigators: Eric A. Betterton, Armin Sorooshian
Grant Number: P42ES004940
Funding Period: 2010-2020
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Hazardous Waste Sites
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Final Progress Reports
In 2014/15, Eric Betterton and his research team focused most of their efforts on the Iron King tailings impoundment at the Dewey-Humboldt Superfund site in order to develop a computational fluid dynamics model to predict the transport of contaminated dust from the site, and also to explore the use of lead isotopes to better apportion the source(s) of lead and arsenic (which accompanies lead). The research is described in detail in the publications listed below. Briefly, the research team found that they can predict the transport of airborne dust based on wind speed observations, and that airborne dust is an important mechanism for the dissemination of lead and arsenic in the area. Also, lead isotope measurements provide a quantitative tool for source apportionment, which can be used to determine the extent of contamination in surrounding soils.