Mercury is a notoriously toxic element known for the threat it poses to the environment and humans. From the 1950s until the late 90s, people still reclaimed mercury. This has lead to the Mercury Refining Company becoming one of the most contaminated sites according to the USEPA. As a result, multiple means for cleanup and containment were taken, leading to the latter becoming the lead agency.
To review a similar case, a study about the Lubon Chemical Plant will be assessed. The location was founded in the early 1910s and was famous for various chemical waste being produced and stored there. Powdered phosphate and sulfuric acid were the leading products created in this location (Kowalski et al., 2018). This has contributed to the leachate disposal site situated within the area contaminating the groundwater with mercury.
One of the most concerning factors about mercury contamination is related to the origin of the element. Most of it is specifically related to facilities created by people and the actions committed by them (Kowalski et al., 2018). The leading cause of mercury contamination is the burning of municipal solid waste and fossil fuels. Other reasons for mercury contamination involve mining waste, electrical engineering, laboratory waste and production of paper.
Samples from the late 00s to mid 2010s were used as a reference. The main focus is the effect the Lubon Chemical Plant has had on the environment. Said effect involves the contamination of groundwater with mercury (Kowalski et al., 2018). The concentration of the element has been assessed in the local water intake in Poznan, while comparing the safe concentration of mercury according to Polish laws and the WHO (World Health Organization).
The contamination caused by the plant has led to attempts to clean the atmosphere, groundwater, and soil from the elements. This building is located in the south-east of Poland and has industrial grounds to the north of the location (Kowalski et al., 2018). In the southern part of the location, there is an aggregate mine. The leachate disposal site was situated at the southwest of the plant. This depiction may provide an explanation for the threats this facility posed to its surroundings.
In order to collect the water samples for reviewing the concentration of mercury, 13 wells and observation holes within the plant have been reviewed. In total, 91 samples were gathered from the years 2007 to 2014. The first three points were located in the southern part of the location, and the rest of them were situated in the northern sector (Kowalski et al., 2018). Ultraclean sampling methods were used to collect the water samples and poured them into borosilicate bottles. Said samples were then acidified and transported to the refrigerator.
To assess the concentration of mercury, chemicals such as nitric acid, potassium bromide and potassium bromate were used. Before being used, all of the containers were cleaned thoroughly and soaked in nitric acid (Kowalski et al., 2018). In order to later decontaminate said containers, argon was being used for six hours, with the reducing solution being cleaned with argon for an hour before proceeding with the analysis. The precision and accuracy were then reviewed with the use of a five-point calibration curve. This ensured that the study would have fewer chances of errors.
The study has provided the following results regarding mercury contamination. The highest concentration of the chemical element has been discovered in areas located closer to the production facilities of the plant. The lowest amount, however, was found in the water intake “Poznan-Debina” (Kowalski et al., 2018). However, the Wilcoxon text has given other results of average mercury concentrations. This, in a way, may complicate the assessment of the results.
During the analysis of the contaminated water samples, it was revealed that the leachate disposal site had a strong impact on the concentration of mercury in them. The amount of the element varied drastically through the years (Kowalski et al., 2018). Upon discovering the statistical differences in the concentration of the chemical, it was disclosed that the distribution of mercury was related to the leaching from the disposal site.
The concentration of the element has grown due to the direction of the water flow in the south and the north of the area. Said direction was aimed at the Warta River, which is located in close proximity to the Marlewo village (Kowalski et al., 2018). The lower degree of contamination was caused by the significant distance between the sources and the chemical plant. This connection has been discovered in prior studies by Bollen et al. Prior data further validates the study’s discoveries related to the dependence between the location of the source and the plant.
Unfortunately, the distribution of mercury discovered as a result of the study is abnormal. This has been revealed with the help of the Shapiro-Wilk test. Said test was used on the basis of the information received about the concentration of mercury in the water samples. Another test, known as the Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, has shown that only the results from the years 2007-2008 were not contradictive (Kowalski et al., 2018). The rest of the values, on the other hand, were statistically different. This demonstrates that the samples from the plant reveal industrial contamination caused by the plant.
In conclusion, the Lubon Chemical Plant and the leachate disposal site were the dominant sources of mercury contamination. The assessment of the concentration has shown that the sources of said contamination ranged from raw materials stored on the land to loading platforms. The reclamation and remediation have decreased the severity of the disaster. Although the current amount of mercury in the water is no longer life-threatening, it is still to be thoroughly reviewed due to the nature of the chemical.
Reference
Kowalski, A., Zioła-Frankowska, A., & Frankowski, M. (2018). Effect on reclamation on mercury concentration in groundwater: a case study of Luboń Chemical Plant (Poznań, Poland). Environmental Earth Sciences, 77(19), 1-10.