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Assessment of groundwater contamination caused by uncontrolled dumping in old gravel quarries in the Besòs aquifers (Barcelona, Spain)

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Abstract

The contamination of groundwater in the aquifer of the La Llagosta basin (Besòs river basin) due to waste disposal in quarries formerly used for the extraction of dry raw materials has led to the cessation of groundwater extraction for public water supply. The mobilization of pollutants was largely caused by fluctuations in piezometric levels, which led to the washing of buried waste. The hydrogeochemical processes associated with uncontrolled waste disposal in these landfilled areas of the La Llagosta basin aquifer were studied along a flow path that crosses the contaminated area. The PHREEQC code was used to establish the reactions associated with the different mineral phases through inverse modeling. This transport code, ionic exchange phenomena, surface reactions and balance (mineral phase) reactions were used to simulate the dilution phenomenon associated with the pollution after the potential removal of the sources of contamination. One-dimensional advective–dispersive modeling indicates a substantial reduction in Ca, Mg, Na and SO 2−4 within one year and stabilization within four years.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Consortium for the Defense of the Besòs River Basin (Consorci per a la Defensa de la Conca del Besòs, CDBesòs) and the Catalan Water Board (Agència Catalana de l’Aigua, ACA), which supplied data for the study. The research that this report is based on was funded by contracts C-4934 and C-6157 between the Technical University of Catalonia (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, UPC) and CDBesòs. Additional information was provided by the University of Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona, UB), which funded the ICP-MS analyses. The authors also thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Depto. M. Fluidos, ETSEIT, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Colón 7, Terrassa, 08222, Spain

    Andrés Navarro

  2. Depto. M. Fluidos, EPSEVG, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Avd. Victor Balaguer s/n, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 08800, Spain

    Montserrat Carbonell

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  1. Andrés Navarro
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  2. Montserrat Carbonell
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Correspondence to Andrés Navarro.

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Navarro, A., Carbonell, M. Assessment of groundwater contamination caused by uncontrolled dumping in old gravel quarries in the Besòs aquifers (Barcelona, Spain). Environ Geochem Health 30, 273–289 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-007-9123-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-007-9123-z

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