Evaluating chromium speciation in groundwater to guide risk assessment and remediation decisions

The fate, transport and environmental and health impacts of metals including chromium are highly dependent on the species in which the metal is present in the environment (e.g. McNeill et al., 2012). As part of the early stages of environmental assessment, chromium is typically the metal analysed for its specific species (i.e. Cr(VI) vs total dissolved Cr). However, even when Cr(VI), which is considered a carcinogen, results are available, assessing the likely migration and fate of Cr(VI) in aquifers can be challenging. This abstract presents a summary of the value of assessing geochemical and hydrogeological conditions as part of site assessments so as to better understand the likely fate of Cr(VI) in groundwater environments. This provides essential information from which to develop appropriate risk-based decisions regarding the extent of remediation and/or management required to protect human health and the environment. (author)