Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements To Detect Coal Fly Ash From The Kingston Tennessee Spill In Watts Bar Reservoir

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Ellen A. Cowan Ph.D, Professor (Creator)
Steven J. Hageman Ph.D., Professor (Contributor)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: An estimated 229,000 m3 of coal fly ash remains in the river system after dredging to clean-up the 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) spill in Kingston, Tennessee. The ash is heterogeneous with clear, orange and black spheres and non-spherical amorphous particles. Combustion produces iron oxides that allow low field magnetic susceptibility (cLF) and percent frequency dependent susceptibility (cFD%) to be used to discriminate between coal fly ash and sediments native to the watershed. Riverbed samples with cLF greater than 3.0 _ 10_6 m3/kg, have greater than 15% ash measured by optical point counting. cLF is positively correlated with total ash, allowing ash detection in riverbed sediments and at depth in cores. The ratio of ash sphere composition is altered by river transport introducing variability in cLF. Measurement of cLF is inexpensive, non-destructive, and a reliable analytical tool for monitoring the fate of coal ash in this fluvial environment.

Additional Information

Publication
Ellen A. Cowan, Keith C. Seramur, Steven J. Hageman (2013). "Magnetic susceptibility measurements to detect coal fly ash from the Kingston Tennessee spill in Watts Bar Reservoir," Environmental Pollution v.174 pp. 179-188.
Language: English
Date: 2013
Keywords
magnetic, susceptibility, coal fly ash

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