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Determining the Toxicity Potential of Mine-Waste Piles

Notes from a workshop presented by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO and the Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center, Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Mines

By Kathleen S. Smith1, Thomas R. Wildeman2, LaDonna M. Choate1, Sharon F. Diehl1, David L. Fey1, Philip L. Hageman1, James F. Ranville2, Rosalia Rojas3, and Bruce D. Smith1

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-210

Version 1.0

 

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
2 Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center and the Colorado School of Mines
3 Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center and Colorado State University

 

This report consists of lectures from a workshop presented at the Joint Conference of the Billings Land Reclamation Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation convened in Billings, Montana, June 1, 2003. The title of the workshop was Assessing the Toxicity Potential of Mine-Waste Piles. Slide-based presentations are included on the following topics.

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Contents
Scope of the workshop
Fundamentals of mine-drainage formation and chemistry
Mining wastes overview
Methods to Determine Bioaccessibility of Metals from Waste
Physical characterization of mine-waste piles
Fate and transport of metals and sediment in surface water
The Importance of Geology
Geophysical Applications to Mine-Waste Piles
Waste Pile and Water Sampling
Chemical Analysis of Solids, Waters, and Leachates
Leaching studies
Assessing the toxicity of mine-waste piles: Chemical criteria
Acid-Base Accounting
Using the Decision Tree
References

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