Geochemical controls on trace metal transport in aqueous environmental systems

Geochemical controls on the mobility of selected trace metals in two different environmental systems are examined. The two study areas are the Oak Ridge National Laboratory radioactive waste burial grounds in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Pine Barrens swamps of southern New Jersey. The research at Oak Ridge evaluates the geochemical processes that are promoting or retarding the leakage of radionuclides from waste disposal pits and trenches. The Pine Barrens studies evaluate natural controls on trace metal geochemistry in ground, surface, and estuary water. Results of the study areas lead to the generalization that some of the important geochemical controls on trace element transport in aqueous environmental systems are very selective reactions between only trace amounts of reactants. At Oak Ridge the EDTA concentration in groundwaters examined was only 3 x 10-7 M, yet even this low a concentration was capable of promoting a significant 60Co dispersion problem. In the Pine Barrens waters, trace amounts of humic and fulvic acids were interacting strongly with Fe and Al