Abstract
Energy development in the Bakken and Three Forks formations of the USA has led to an increase in fugitive dust from unpaved roads. A dust abatement alternative that has been considered in this region is oil-well produced waters. The objectives of this study were to compare dust loading at sites abated with produced water to non-abated control sites and to determine if the elemental constituents in released dust are different compared to control roads. Three previously untreated unpaved roads were selected, and passive dust collectors were placed at 10, 20, 40, and 60 m from the road on the downwind side of the dominant prevailing wind in each mile section. Eighty-four days post-application, two sections treated with produced waters failed to reduce dust when compared to the controls. Dust elemental changes were found on two of the three roads. Elements that were found to have differences included Mo, Mn, Fe, As, Au, and Hg. Overall results indicated that oil-well produced water is not effective at controlling road dust. Results of this study are important to road managers who are contemplating the usage of produced waters to reduce dusts from unpaved roads.
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Acknowledgements
We would also like to thank Mike Zimmerman and the Dunn County Road Department for prepping the roads and applying the dust abatements. Additionally, we would like to thank Kris Ringwall at the Dickinson Research Extension Center for lodging and storage of equipment throughout the project. Finally, we would like to thank Kevin Horsager, Amy Gnoinsky, Alexis Steinman, and Raihan Khan for their help in the field and laboratory. This work was partially supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch project 1007172.
Funding
We would like to thank North Dakota State University for funding this project.
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Graber, K., Hargiss, C.L.M., Norland, J.E. et al. Is Oil-Well Produced Water Effective in Abating Road Dust?. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 449 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3640-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3640-x