{The impact of coal ash and slag dump on the quality of surface and ground waters - a case study} J. Serb. Chem. Soc. 84 (5) 527–530 (2019) UDC 662.613.11–032.35+66.046.58: JSCS–5205 628.1.033+54.061 Note 527 NOTE The impact of coal ash and slag dump on the quality of surface and ground waters – A case study IVANA ĆIPRANIĆ1, RADMILA MARKOVIĆ2*, STEFAN ĐORĐIEVSKI2, ZORAN STEVANOVIĆ2 and MARIJA STEVANOVIĆ3 1University of Montenegro, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Bulevar Džordža Vašingtona bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro, 2Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor, Zeleni bulevar 35, 19210 Bor, Serbia and 3JP EPS, EPS Jagodina, 7. jula 62, 35000 Jagodina, Serbia (Received 29 January, accepted 4 February 2019) Abstract: This paper presents the assessment of the impact of coal ash and slag from the “Maljevac” dump on the quality of water of Paleški Creek, Monte- negro. The obtained results confirm the negative influence of surface and groundwater from the dump on the water from the Paleški Creek. The results obtained by testing of the water samples, collected from Paleški Creek upstream of the dump, indicate that the water is qualified to be used for drink- ing, after simple physical treatment and disinfection. The results obtained for the water samples collected from the Paleški creek downstream from the dump indicate that the water could be safe for drinking only after the treatment that requires an intensive physical, chemical and biological processing, including some extended treatment. Keywords: coal ash; coal slag; water quality. INTRODUCTION Although the material from ash and slag dumps may be used in the cons- truction industry,1 the largest amount of this material is stored in dumps, where leaching of the elements with toxic effects occurs.2 Such dumps pose a serious threat to the surrounding soil, surface and groundwater3 as well as to aquatic ecosystems.4 The ash produced from coal combustion is regarded globally as the waste which presents a serious health risk5 and which must be treated in an ade- quate manner. In order to provide sufficient space for the disposal of coal combustion by-products, ash and slag, generated at Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, the earthen dam “Maljevac” was built in 1982 in the riverbed of Paleški Creek, approx- * Corresponding author. E-mail: radmila.markovic@irmbor.co.rs https://doi.org/10.2298/JSC190129012C ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Available on line at www.shd.org.rs/JSCS/ (CC) 2019 SCS. 528 ĆIPRANIĆ et al. imately 7 km from the town of Pljevlja, Montenegro. At the time it was the common practice to dispose of ash and slag waste directly onto the soil surface, without setting up any protection layers. Hence, the waste material has been stored directly onto soil in the riverbed of Paleški Creek for decades. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of coal ash and slag dump of a thermal power plant on the quality of ground and surface water. The impact evaluation is based on the investigations carried out in the area of the coal ash and slag dump “Maljevac” of the thermal power plant in Pljevlja (Montenegro). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION For the purpose of examining the effects of dumps on the surface water qual- ity, the analysis of water in Paleški Creek was conducted as the dump directly influences the water of that stream (leachate from the dump is discharged into the stream). The water samples were collected upstream and downstream of the dump. The results of the water samples testing are presented in Table I. The sampling points are marked in Fig. S-1 of the Supplementary material to this paper. TABLE I. The results of the chemical and physical analyses of Paleški Creek, surface water samples from the dump, and groundwater samples collected from the boreholes on the dam Parameter Unit Sampling point PW-1 PW-2 SW-3 SW-4 GW-5 pH – 7.5–7.8 10.7–10.96 11.8–12.2 7.3–7.45 5.84–6.02 κ µS/cm 390–430 863.5–980 11395–11500 1950–2250 2400–2920 Fe mg/l 0.087–0.11 0.047–0.15 0.001–0.121 0.001–0.21 89–229.1 Al mg/l 0.017–0.21 1.35–3.72 0.3–0.51 0.014–0.11 2.01–18.34 Ca mg/l 85.7–101.2 366.2–400.5 1100–1370 130–284.1 330–447.3 Na mg/l 2.08–5 19.67–48 12.3–15.83 36–80 18.35–44.92 Zn mg/l 0.007–0.008 0.099–1.35 0.007–0.05 0.006–0.02 0.526–1.38 Mg mg/l 6.55–8.32 0.59–2.4 11.89–16.4 68–107.92 216.4–324 Mn mg/l 0.004–0.021 0.028–0.045 0.008–0.0135 3.54–0.777 7.67–11.34 P2O5 mg/l 0.24–0.45 0.059–0.09 0.055–0.09 0.006–0.099 0.071–0.15 K2O mg/l 0.78–1.3 239.4–320 24–61.36 16.78 8.3–10.55 PAH mg/l < 0.000005 < 0.000005 0.000008 0.00042 0.00091 PCB mg/l < 0.000002 < 0.000002 0.000002 0.000002 0.000002 Nitrates mg/l 3.81–8.33 1.99–5.42 5.32–8.29 2.82–3.25 35.2–42 Nitrites mg/l 0.008–0.010 0.015–0.199 0.520 0.090 0.077–0.09 Sulphates mg/l – 82 18.35–36.3 88–193 363–450 Phenols mg/l 0.019 0.0008 0.061 0.0005 0.0005 Cd mg/l – – – 0.003–0.02 0.02–0.018 As mg/l – – – – 0.08–0.1 The results obtained by the testing of the water samples collected from Paleški Creek, upstream of the dump, indicate that the water of the stream is qualified as clear spring water. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Available on line at www.shd.org.rs/JSCS/ (CC) 2019 SCS. IMPACT OF COAL ASH AND SLAG DUMP ON WATER 529 Paleški creek downstream of the dump is characterized by a large number of the water quality parameters that are above the permissible limits (in Monte- negro, determined by the directive6): pH value, electrolytic conductivity, the con- tent of sulphates, calcium, sodium, cyanide, etc. The water collected from Paleški Creek upstream of the dump is classified as “A1” category, while the one col- lected downstream of the dump is classified as “A3” category. According to the directive6, the category “A1” refers to the waters which can be used for drinking after simple physical treatment and disinfection. On the other hand, the category “A3” encompasses the water that could be safe for drinking only after the treat- ment requiring an intensive physical, chemical and biological processing, inc- luding extended disinfection and chlorination, coagulation, flocculation, decan- tation, filtration, activated carbon adsorption as well as disinfection with ozone and chlorine. The groundwater samples were surveyed from the two boreholes drilled in the body of the dam and in its plinth. Based on the pH values presented in Table I, it is noted that the mean value ranges from neutral to mildly acidic. Even though the pH value of water near the surface is basic, the obtained mean value results from the fact that the dam was constructed of marly clay aterial con- sidered acidic. Electrolytic conductivity is increased. The elevated concentrations of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, cadmium and sulphates are regis- tered. The elevated concentration of Ca is a result of calcium oxide dissolution from the coal ash. In addition, there are traces of arsenic within the borehole in the plinth of the dam. The core of the problem is closely related to the solubility of the ash components in water. In terms of the pollution control of ground waters, the SO42– are the most significant as it does not bind tightly to the soil. Due to this feature, sulphates can be used as “tracers”, i.e., it would be possible to determine the pollution level of ground water from the dump by means of track- ing the ions.7 The water samples at the dump were collected from one point at the very surface of the dump. Based on the obtained results it is concluded that these samples are characterized by increased the electrolytic conductivity. Moreover, the pH value is alkaline. The pH value of the water from boreholes depends on the depth of the borehole. The minimal and the maximal concentrations from Table I are similar, which indicates that there is a constant inflow of wastewater. CONCLUSION The impact of the coal ash and the slag dump of the thermal power plant on the quality of surface and groundwater is exceedingly harmful. The quality parameters of the surface water samples (pH value, electrolytic conductivity, the content of sulphates, calcium, sodium, etc.) are above the permissible limits. The groundwater in the vicinity of the dump is characterized by the increased elec- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Available on line at www.shd.org.rs/JSCS/ (CC) 2019 SCS. 530 ĆIPRANIĆ et al. trolytic conductivity, high concentrations of zinc, sulphates, calcium, magne- sium, potassium, sodium, cadmium, etc. The harmful effects of the dump on the quality of surface and groundwater should be eliminated in these cases (when the dump was built directly on the ground, without necessary protection) by means of employing the adequate measures of remediation and recultivation. In addit- ion, the material should be removed and used in making concrete and concrete blocks (used in construction industry) as well as for other industrial purposes. И З В О Д УТИЦАЈ ДЕПОНИЈЕ УГЉЕНОГ ПЕПЕЛА И ШЉАКЕ НА КВАЛИТЕТ ПОВРШИНСКИХ И ПОДЗЕМНИХ ВОДА – СТУДИЈА СЛУЧАЈА ИВАНА ЋИПРАНИЋ1, РАДМИЛА МАРКОВИЋ2, СТЕФАН ЂОРЂИЕВСКИ2, ЗОРАН СТЕВАНОВИЋ2 и МАРИЈА СТЕВАНОВИЋ3 1Универзитет Црне Горе, Грађевински факултет, Булевар Џорџа Вашингтона бб, 81000 Подгорица, Црна Гора, 2Институт за рударство и металургију Бор, Зелени булевар 35, 19210 Бор и 3ЈП ЕПС, ЕПС Јагодина, 7. јула 62, 35000 Јагодина У раду је приказан утицај угљеног пепела и шљаке са депоније Маљевац на квалитет воде Палешког потока у Црној Гори. Добијени резултати потврђују негативан утицај повр- шинске и подземне воде са одлагалишта на воду Палешког потока. Резултати добијени испитивањем узорака вода узетих из Палешког потока узводно од одлагалишта указују да се вода квалификује као вода која се може користити за пиће након једноставног физичког третмана и дезинфекције. 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Evans, Coal Ash-The toxic threat to our health and environment, A Report from Physicians For Social Responsibility and Earthјustice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington, DC, 2010 (https://www.psr.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/05/coal-ash.pdf) 6. Classification and Categorization оf Surface and Renewable Water, in Official Gazette of Montenegro, No.2/07, Government of the Republic of Montenegro, Podgorica, 2007 7. M. Vemić, R. Vemić, in Proceedings of III Consultation C Ko Cigre, 3-16.05.2013, Przno, Montenegro, 2013. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Available on line at www.shd.org.rs/JSCS/ (CC) 2019 SCS. << /ASCII85EncodePages false /AllowTransparency false /AutoPositionEPSFiles true /AutoRotatePages /None /Binding /Left /CalGrayProfile (Dot Gain 20%) /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated \050SWOP\051 v2) /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Error /CompatibilityLevel 1.4 /CompressObjects /Tags /CompressPages true /ConvertImagesToIndexed true /PassThroughJPEGImages true /CreateJobTicket false /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default /DetectBlends true /DetectCurves 0.0000 /ColorConversionStrategy /CMYK /DoThumbnails false /EmbedAllFonts true /EmbedOpenType false /ParseICCProfilesInComments true /EmbedJobOptions true /DSCReportingLevel 0 /EmitDSCWarnings false /EndPage -1 /ImageMemory 1048576 /LockDistillerParams false /MaxSubsetPct 100 /Optimize true /OPM 1 /ParseDSCComments true /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true /PreserveCopyPage true /PreserveDICMYKValues true /PreserveEPSInfo true /PreserveFlatness true /PreserveHalftoneInfo false /PreserveOPIComments true /PreserveOverprintSettings true /StartPage 1 /SubsetFonts true /TransferFunctionInfo /Apply /UCRandBGInfo /Preserve /UsePrologue false /ColorSettingsFile () /AlwaysEmbed [ true ] /NeverEmbed [ true ] /AntiAliasColorImages false /CropColorImages true /ColorImageMinResolution 300 /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleColorImages true /ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /ColorImageResolution 300 /ColorImageDepth -1 /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1 /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeColorImages true /ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterColorImages true /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /ColorACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /ColorImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /GrayImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict << /K -1 >> /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False /CreateJDFFile false /Description << /ARA /BGR /CHS /CHT /CZE /DAN /DEU /ESP /ETI /FRA /GRE /HEB /HRV (Za stvaranje Adobe PDF dokumenata najpogodnijih za visokokvalitetni ispis prije tiskanja koristite ove postavke. 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