Contamination of the Chalk Aquifer by Chlorinated Solvents: A Case Study of the Luton and Dunstable Area

Longstaff, Sarah L.; Aldous, P. J.; Clark, Lewis; Flavin, R. J.; Partington, J. R.

doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.1992.tb00789.x

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In France, the Chalk aquifer covers about 20 % of the metropolitan territory with a total area of 110 000 km 2 (Crampon et al, 1996;Roux, 2018) and provides approximately 12 billion m 3 •year -1 of water, which accounts for 70% of the drinking water consumed in the north of France (Lallahem, 2002). However, in recent decades, there is a growing evidence of the deterioration of the European Chalk groundwater quality due to human activities (Baran et al, 2008;Barhoum, 2014;Chen et al, 2019;Hakoun et al, 2017;Johnson et al, 2001;Longstaff et al, 1992). Aquifer protection requires a sound knowledge of the Chalk hydrogeology and groundwater geochemistry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous behaviour of unconfined Chalk aquifers infer from combination of groundwater residence time, hydrochemistry and hydrodynamic tools

Cao

Jaunat

Vergnaud-Ayraud

et al. 2020

Journal of Hydrology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous behaviour of unconfined Chalk aquifers infer from combination of groundwater residence time, hydrochemistry and hydrodynamic tools

Cao

Jaunat

Vergnaud-Ayraud

et al. 2020

Journal of Hydrology

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“…Meanwhile, many urban areas are confronted with groundwater contaminations in the aquifer layer, especially with chlorinated solvents (Burston et al 1993 ; Lopes and Bender 1998 ; Moran et al 2007 ; Squillace et al 2002 ). Chlorinated solvents, in particular, tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), have been applied widely as degreasers in industrial factories and for dry-cleaning since the 1930s (ITRC 2005 ; Linn et al 2004 ; Longstaff et al 1992 ). Due to improper disposal, leakage and accidents, PCE and TCE together with their daughter products cis -dichloroethene ( cis -DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC) have become the most prevalent groundwater contaminants in aquifers (Grindstaff 1998 ; Henry and Warner 2003 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combination of aquifer thermal energy storage and enhanced bioremediation: resilience of reductive dechlorination to redox changes

Gaans

Smit

et al. 2015

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol

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To meet the demand for sustainable energy, aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is widely used in the subsurface in urban areas. However, contamination of groundwater, especially with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), is often being encountered. This is commonly seen as an impediment to ATES implementation, although more recently, combining ATES and enhanced bioremediation of CVOCs has been proposed. Issues to be addressed are the high water flow velocities and potential periodic redox fluctuation that accompany ATES. A column study was performed, at a high water flow velocity of 2 m/h, simulating possible changes in subsurface redox conditions due to ATES operation by serial additions of lactate and nitrate. The impacts of redox changes on reductive dechlorination as well as the microbial response of Dehalococcoides (DHC) were evaluated. The results showed that, upon lactate addition, reductive dechlorination proceeded well and complete dechlorination from cis-DCE to ethene was achieved. Upon subsequent nitrate addition, reductive dechlorination immediately ceased. Disruption of microorganisms’ retention was also immediate and possibly detached DHC which preferred attaching to the soil matrix under biostimulation conditions. Initially, recovery of dechlorination was possible but required bioaugmentation and nutrient amendment in addition to lactate dosing. Repeated interruption of dechlorination and DHC activity by nitrate dosing appeared to be less easily reversible requiring more efforts for regenerating dechlorination. Overall, our results indicate that the microbial resilience of DHC in biosimulated ATES conditions is sensitive to redox fluctuations. Hence, combining ATES with bioremediation requires dedicated operation and monitoring on the aquifer geochemical conditions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00253-015-7241-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…The identification of at least four sites of contamination, and the range of chemicals found within the drift and Chalk aquifers, suggest that this type of contamination should be more properly referred to as multiple point source rather than point source contamination, similar to those at other locations on the Chalk aquifer investigated by Longstaff et al (1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Detection of point sources of contamination by chlorinated solvents: a case study from the Chalk aquifer of eastern England

Misstear

Rippon

Ashley

1998

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Groundwater contamination by chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene is of increasing concern in the UK. This paper describes a case study of chlorinated solvent contamination of the Chalk aquifer at a groundwater supply source in eastern England. The investigations comprised two phases: the first phase focused on the extent and nature of the contamination within the main Chalk aquifer (both in the fissures and in the Chalk matrix); and the second phase targeted the sources of contamination through detailed sampling of the unsaturated drift at suspect sites. The volatile nature of the organic contaminants required special hygiene procedures during drilling and sampling to avoid cross-contamination between boreholes, or loss of contaminants in the samples collected. Four potential sources of contamination were identified within an industrialized area about 1 km up hydraulic gradient from the contaminated well. However, the contamination was found to be extremely localized, with closely spaced investigation boreholes at individual sites giving highly varied results. To be successful, investigation boreholes had to target precise locations where these chemicals were known or suspected to have been used or stored. Therefore, a key aspect of the investigation was a solvent usage survey prior to each phase of drilling.chlorinated solvents: a case study from the Chalk aquifer of eastern England.

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Contamination of the Chalk Aquifer by Chlorinated Solvents: A Case Study of the Luton and Dunstable Area

Cited by 16 publications

References 3 publications

Heterogeneous behaviour of unconfined Chalk aquifers infer from combination of groundwater residence time, hydrochemistry and hydrodynamic tools

Heterogeneous behaviour of unconfined Chalk aquifers infer from combination of groundwater residence time, hydrochemistry and hydrodynamic tools

Combination of aquifer thermal energy storage and enhanced bioremediation: resilience of reductive dechlorination to redox changes

Detection of point sources of contamination by chlorinated solvents: a case study from the Chalk aquifer of eastern England

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