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A Time Space Groundwater Contamination investigation in an Industrial Site using Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 24th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Sep 2018, Volume 2018, p.1 - 5
Abstract
The industrial chemical complex of Estarreja (ICCE), lat 40°45′N, long 8°35′ W, operates since the 1950’s. Several plants have disposed locally residues and effluents, discharging them into natural water lines, opening channels, surface and buried deposits, in an area that houses an important aquifer system. These residues range from heavy metals to organic compounds. The area around the ICCE has also been used for agriculture that exerts further pressure on local eco systems as there is a wide spread use of fertilizers. From 1998 onwards the area is been recovered and remediated by a joint effort of the Local Council, Industries and Environmental Authorities. This work presents more than thirty years of Geophysical and Hydrochemical data from the area. Because of space limitations, only selected data will be presented in the abstract. EM geophysical mapping provided an efficient tool to investigate contamination propagation and extension but, as expected, could not identify the pollutants themselves neither their origin. Hydrochemisty allows the identification of the pollutants as well as their origin. Theses environmental problems, that can affect public health, need the use of both Geophysics and Hydrochemistry if a thorough assessment of the contamination, evolution and monitoring, is to be carried out.