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Mining-Related Sediment and Soil Contamination in a Large Superfund Site: Characterization, Habitat Implications, and Remediation

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Abstract

Historical mining activity (1850–1970) in the now inactive Tri-State Mining District provided an ongoing source of lead and zinc to the environment including the US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site located in Cherokee County, southeast Kansas, USA. The resultant contamination adversely affected biota and caused human health problems and risks. Remediation in the Superfund site requires an understanding of the magnitude and extent of contamination. To provide some of the required information, a series of sediment and soil investigations were conducted in and near the Superfund site to characterize lead and zinc contamination in the aquatic and floodplain environments along the main-stem Spring River and its major tributaries. In the Superfund site, the most pronounced lead and zinc contamination, with concentrations that far exceed sediment quality guidelines associated with potential adverse biological effects, was measured for streambed sediments and floodplain soils located within or downstream from the most intensive mining-affected areas. Tributary streambeds and floodplains in affected areas are heavily contaminated with some sites having lead and zinc concentrations that are an order of magnitude (or more) greater than the sediment quality guidelines. For the main-stem Spring River, the streambed is contaminated but the floodplain is mostly uncontaminated. Measured lead and zinc concentrations in streambed sediments, lakebed sediments, and floodplain soils documented a persistence of the post-mining contamination on a decadal timescale. These results provide a basis for the prioritization, development, and implementation of plans to remediate contamination in the affected aquatic and floodplain environments within the Superfund site.

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Fig. 1
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sources: (Pope 2005; Juracek 2006, 2013; Juracek and Becker 2009)

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source: (Pope 2005)

Fig. 4

source: (Juracek 2006)

Fig. 5

source: (Juracek 2006)

Fig. 6

source: (Juracek and Becker 2009)

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Acknowledgments

The sediment and soil contamination studies completed by the U.S. Geological Survey were made possible, in part, by financial support provided by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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  1. K. D. Drake

    Present address: Department of Geosciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 420 Flarsheim Hall, 5110 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA

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  1. U.S. Geological Survey, 4821 Quail Crest Place, Lawrence, KS, 66049, USA

    K. E. Juracek

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Juracek, K.E., Drake, K.D. Mining-Related Sediment and Soil Contamination in a Large Superfund Site: Characterization, Habitat Implications, and Remediation. Environmental Management 58, 721–740 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-016-0729-8

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