Tracer Tests Steer Cleanup of Mined Watersheds

A new stream-tracer technology developed by Program scientists identifies and quantifies the individual sources of contamination that have the most severe effect on water and ecosystem quality in mined watersheds. The method involves introduction of a harmless chemical tracer to the stream, extensive measurement of the tracers and contaminants downstream, and interpretation with a simulation model of chemical transport in the stream. Mined watersheds often are affected by hundreds of potential contamination sites. Without this technology, prioritizing investments in remediation and assuring acceptable improvements in water quality is virtually impossible. At the request of US Environmental Protection Agency, US Forest Service, National Park Service, the City of Helena Montana, and Stakeholders (which includes local citizens and industry) at Creede CO, and Questa New Mexico, 13 stream tracer experiments have been conducted by Program scientists throughout western statesto help in decision-making related to abandoned mine lands contamination problems. In each case, the results enabled the agencies to target contaminant sources and prioritize remediation activities. Find out more about the USGS Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Initiative.

More Information

• Use of tracer injections and synoptic sampling to measure metal loading from acid mine drainage: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-245-96
• U.S. Geological Survey's Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
• Contamination from Historic Hard Rock Mining in Rocky Mountain Terrain Investigation -- Upper Arkansas River, Colorado
• Contamination from Hard Rock Mining in Arid Southwest Alluvial Basins Investigation -- Pinal Creek, Arizona

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• Importance and Causes of Daily Variation in Metal Concentrations in Streams
• Multidisciplinary Approach to Remediating Watersheds Contaminated from Abandoned Mine Lands
• Daily Variation of Metals in Streams Can Confound Scientific Studies
• Nature's Way of Cleaning Up Mining-Contaminated Streams
• Cleaning up Contamination in Hard Rock Mine Lands

Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Related Activates

• Acidic Plume Remediation Monitoring
• Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
• Lake Coeur d'Alene Remediation Assessment
• Remediating Some of the World's Most Acidic Waters at the Iron Mountain Superfund Site--A Tough Challenge for Scientists
• Summitville Mine and its Downstream Effects
• Evaluating How Downstream Tailings Deposits Impact the Effectiveness of Remediation Plans

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