Journal of Engineering Geology

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The main objective of this research is to investigate the mechanism of cement-clay-heavy metal contaminant interaction from micro-structural point of view. To achieve this objective series of batch equilibrium and XRD experiments were performed. The results indicate that the addition of 10% cement not only stabilizes the soil, but also at 250 cmol/kg-soil of heavy metals causes 130% increase in heavy metal retention. Furthermore, the XRD analysis shows that in solidified samples with less than 10% cement, the main reason for reduction in peak intensity of clay fraction is due to the presence of heavy metals. However, as the percentage of cement increases, the clay solubility is the main reason for reduction in peak intensity of montmorillonite in XRD test

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In contrast with Mobility Factor (MF) and Risk Assessment Code (RAC) indices, I_R attributes a risk share to metal species bound to reducible and oxidizable phases which are totally neglected in both of the two above-mentioned indices. In other words, besides the absolutely mobile fractions, the potentially mobile ones are also regarded in risk evaluation process elaborated by I_R. The different structure of the newly-developed index may prevent risk level underestimation especially in case where a remarkable percent of bulk concentration is accumulated within reducible and oxidizable phases. The independency of the index value to the bulk concentration makes it possible to discuss the potential risk in different levels of bulk concentration. Furthermore, the index capability in indication of risky pollution, regardless of the pollution source type, may prevent the probable misleading caused by distinct separation of bulk concentration into geopogenic and anthropogenic portion

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In order to assess mineralogical composition influence on durability and strength of rocks, four samples of hornfelsic rocks were selected from southern and western parts of the city of Hamedan, west of Iran. These rock samples were subjected to mineralogical, physical and mechanical tests in the laboratory. Also, they were evaluated in 15 cycles of slake-durability testing in different pH of sulfuric acid solutions and XRD analysis. Based on the results, the type and amount of minerals, their density and hardness had an influence on the uniaxial compressive strength and the slake durability index of tested rocks. That means, presence of non-dissolved minerals such as graphite in studied rocks, decreases Unconfined Compressing Strength (UCS) but increases the slake durability index. The results of slake-durability test indicated that weight loss of the samples at initial cycles was found to be higher than the end cycles. Also, in these samples, initial minerals in the fresh samples were not exchanged by secondary minerals such as clay minerals. Therefore Hamedan hornfelsic rocks are approximately resistant when were put under accelerated chemical weathering and degradation in the laboratory and natural chemical weathering.

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Landslide is one of the mass movement processes that occur in Iran and parts of the world every year. It causes huge human loss and economical damages. In order to check the stability of slopes in Kakasheraf basin, in the first step sliding areas were identified using the aerial photography and field surveys and then distribution map of landslide is provided. The impact of each of these factors which included dip, aspect, altitude, lithology, landuse and distance from the road and drainage are assessed through Arc GIS software merging the effective factors on landslide with the landslide distribution map. Then these factors were prioritized using AHP model. In this study, the fuzzy logic and density area method has been used in the Kakasheraf basin in order to identify landslide hazard zonation. The empirical probability index (EPI) has been used to assess and classify the models outputs in the landslide risk estimation.Results show that the fuzzy logic is more applicable method than density area model for mapping the landslide risk in Kakasheraf basin

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Objective of the present research is to identify, analyze, and assess risk of Paveroud Dam during construction phase. Following collection and analysis of the information related to environmental conditions of the area of study and technical specifications of dam construction, a list of probable risk factors was prepared in the form of a questionnaire, and for verification, the questionnaires were provided to a group of specialists consisting of elites and professors specialized at the disciplines relevant to environment and civil engineering. Number of questionnaires was determined based on Cochran’s formula. In the first step, the expert group in the research was asked to score in Likert scale format so as to analyze the acquired responses and the risks present in the region. Having analyzed the scores using the findings of PHA method, TOPSIS technique was applied to prioritize the identified risks of Paveroud Dam. The results indicated that erosion had the highest priority among 36 risk factors. After prioritization among the risk factors, risk was also assessed using RAM-D technique in which “impact on Sorkhabad Protected Zone with 9 scores, “erosion” with 6 scores, and “work at high elevation” with 3 scores were recognized as three major risks of Paveroud Dam. In order to mitigate the effects of dam risks during construction phase, environmental management planning is crucial, and for this purpose, risk mitigation choices were recommended at the end aimed at coping with the identified risks.

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Subsurface flow contributes considerably to river flow and plays an important role in river sediment loads. This research has been focused on investigation of soil properties and bankstream slope on seepage erosion. For this purpose a series of lysimeter experiments were performed for four different slopes of bankstream by varying the soil grain sizes. The obtained results indicate that Reynolds number in porous medium plays an effective role in depth of scour hole in noncohesive layer. It was observed that the time of beginning of sediment motion decreases with an increase in the soil grain size.

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Introduction
Exploitation or processing of ores is usually associated with the production of a large amount of waste materials. These materials often have a high concentration of metals which can enter the environment through weathering or erosion. It is well-known that the measurement of the total concentration of metals cannot be an adequate for evaluating the pollution status of soil. Therefore, in most studies on soil contamination, bioavailability content of metals is determined by which can predicate the fate of the metals entering into the other parts of the environment such as plants, water or human food chain. The bioavailability of metals in the soil environment is the exchangeable and absorbable metals for plants, which depends on their exchangeability and absorption by soil organisms especially plants. This is also the function of the chemical form of each element in the soil.  The main purpose of the present study was to measure the total concentrations along with the bioavailable content of metals in soils and plants around the Irankuh mine tailing dams.
Area of study
The Irankuh lead and zinc mine is located 20 kilometers southwest of Isfahan. This mine is of MVT type Pb-Zn deposit which occurred mainly in limestone and dolostone of lower cretaceous age. The Irankuh mine is an open-pit mine with annual extraction of 358 thousand of PbO and ZnO. The exploitation of mine is also associated with the production of a large amount of waste material which is piled in open dumps around the mine. The main minerals of ores are galena, sphalerite and pyrite.
Materials and methods
31 sampling sites were selected randomly for collecting agricultural soils around the tailing dams. Each soil sample is actually composite sample of four samples which are taken from a depth of 15 to 20 cm. Seven cultivated plants (Ocimum basilicum) were sampled from green houses in the vicinity of tailing dams. After drying and sieving, about 50g of the soils are chemically analyzed in order to determine the total concentration of the metals by the ICP-OES method.  Plant samples after drying were changed to ash in the furnace at temperature > 500 C. The concentrations of metals (Zn, Pb and Cd) were then measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrometers in their stem, roots and leaves.
pH samples of soil were also determined using the EPA 9045 method. Walkley and Black method were used to measure the amount of organic matter. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil samples was also determined based on EPA 9087 method. Soil texture determined using hydrometric method and then classified according to USDA classification. Diethylene Triamine Pentaacetic Acid (DTPA) extractable metals (bioavailable content) were determined using the method by Lindsay and Norvell (1978) and their concentrations in the DTPA extracts were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS).
The metal transfer from soil to plant was calculated using the transfer factor (TF: metal content in plant divided by metal content in soil).
Results and discussion
The soil pH of the studied samples varies from 7.36 to 8.35. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil samples was estimated to be in the range of 4 to 22.2 Meq/100 g. Also, the amount of organic matter in the studied soil samples varies from 0.17 to 3.43%. The relative high levels of soil organic matter are probably due to addition of organic manure to soil through agricultural activity. The total concentration of these three matls are significantly higher than their corresponding values in the crust implying that the mining activity and tailing dams greatly elevated the concentration of these metals in soils. Statistically, there is a significant positive correlation among Zn, Pb and Cd (at confidence level of 0.01) indicating that their potential source is the same or having similar geochemical behavior in the soil. The soil clay content showed a significant correlation at the level of 0.05 with Zn, Cd and Pb. This indicates that clay fraction plays a significant role in absorption of these metals in soil. According to the results of single extraction (DTPA method), the proportion of available content for Cd is higher than that of Zn and Pb. Cadmium is often characterized by its high mobility in soil media. Based on the correlation coefficients at the confidence level of 0.01, it is also observed that the increase in total concentration of Cd increased its bioavailability content in the soil consequently increase the availability of other elements in the soil. Therefore, it can be inferred that the availability of Cd in the soils of the study area is likely to be increased in the presence of Zn and Pb because in sites where the total concentration of Pb and Zn is high, the content of Cd availability has also elevated.
Based on the comparison of the average concentration of the metals in different parts of the plants, the concentration of metals is ordered as follows stem> leaf> root, which indicates the high root capacity for the accumulation of metals. The average transfer factor (TF) for Cd is obtained much higher than those of Zn and Pb. There is also a negative significantly correlation between the concentrations of Cd in the aerial parts of the plants and its bioavailability concentration in the soil. Also, there is positive and significant correlation between Zn and Cd for all three different parts and its bioavailability concentration in the soil. In the case of Pb, a significant correlation is observed between stem and root parts. This means that Cd and Zn after being absorbed by the root, are more likely being uptake by the plants due to high mobility of zinc. However due to less mobility of Pb, it is seemingly entered into the plant aerial parts after absorption by the root.
 
Conclusion
The concentration and degree of contamination of the studied soils is very high in terms of total Pb, Zn and Cd concentrations in agricultural soils around the Irankuh mine. The increased heavy metal contents in soils can be attributed to mining activity and tailing dams near cultivated lands. The measurement of the bioavailable content of these metals indicates that the Cd has the highest availability as compared to Zn and Pb. The average concentration of Pb and Cd in different parts of plant which is higher than the permissible limits, implying that the transfer of the available metal part (especially Cd) from the contaminated soil into the plant. Based on the calculated health risk assessment index in this study, it can generally be concluded that the gradual accumulation of these metals, especially in aerial parts of basil might have health hazards for local consumers.   ./files/site1/files/0Extended_Abstract3.pdf

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Introduction
Solid waste is one of the unavoidable products of every society that necessitates the establishment of municipal solid waste management system. Because of variability in quantity and composition of municipal solid wastes, several management scenarios are considered. Assessing the environmental impacts of the life cycle of these scenarios will have a significant role in reducing and resolving urban service management problems. The aim of this study was to compare different scenarios of municipal solid waste management in Sirjan city using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. LCA methodology is used to evaluate the environmental performance of the waste management of Sirjan for different scenarios, according to the ISO standards 14040 series 2006.
Material and methods
After identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the produced wastes within the scope of the study, the quadratic steps of the LCA method are followed in relation to each of the scenarios. The stages of life cycle assessment in the present research are as follows:
 1. Determining goals and scope: Our goal is to compare environmental impacts of scenarios that include different methods of disposal. The boundaries of the study start from the collection of municipal solid wastes from the transfer station and ends with the final disposal of waste (Figure 1)

Figure 1. System boundary
Four scenarios have been investigated and evaluated in the environmental field (Table 1).
Table 1. Disposal solid waste scenarios

Scenario	Compost (%)	Recycle (%)	Incineration (%)	Landfill (%)
1 2 3 4	0 68.4 17.1 0	0 19.2 15 19.2	0 0 55.9 69.8	100 12.4 12 11

2. Collecting data and life cycle inventory (LCI): Various tools have been developed for LCI, one of which is the IWM-2 model. The IWM-2 model is one of the lifecycle assessment models that can be used to define different scenarios and then to compare the environmental impacts of each scenario. At this stage, the data from physical analysis, the amount of waste produced, the stages of separation at source, collection, transportation and final disposal, were collected and analyzed and the amount of contamination caused by each of the scenarios and energy consumption were determined.
3. Life cycle impacts assessment (LCIA): Assessing the impacts of the life cycle is a step of life cycle assessment, aimed at understanding and assessing the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts of a product or service. At this step, the various information and data obtained at the LCI stage are reduced to less indicators and impact categories in order to facilitate the interpretation of this information and provide clearer outcomes to decision makers and managers. In this step, input data are allocated to the five impact categories of energy consumption, greenhouse gases, acid gases, photochemical gases and toxic emissions.
4. Interpretation of results: At this stage, the results of the LCI and LCIA will be evaluated so that the stages or points which have the greatest and least harmful impacts on the environment in the production and consumption of the product have been determined. Finally, conclusions and solutions are explained.
Results and discussion
Results of the model were allocated to five categories consisting of energy consumption, greenhouse gases, acid gases, photochemical gases and toxic emissions. In every category, the ecological index as a quantitative measure to compare scenarios was calculated.
Conclusion
In this study, the life cycle assessment approach was used as a decision tool for choosing the appropriate waste disposal scenario in Sirjan city. The second scenario (68.4% compost, 19.2% recycling, 12.4% landfill) was selected as the preferred option for municipal waste disposal in Sirjan city. Also the results of this study show that in an integrated municipal waste management system, increasing the rate of separation and recycling will significantly reduce the release of environmental pollutants../files/site1/files/142/5.pdf
 

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Introduction
"Sulfide-carbonate" deposit is a term, which comprises a series of sulfide minerals such as Zn-Pb ore minerals, mainly considered as related to weathering of Zn-Pb sulfide concentrations and influence in sedimentary hosts (carbonate). There are more than 350 Zn-Pb deposits located in Iran, including world-class deposits such as Angouran, Mehdiabad and Irankouh. Due to the mining activity of these deposits, it creates a significant amount of mine waste that releases of these wastes in the environment causing severe problems. One of the main problems is the formation of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). AMD is produced by oxidation of sulphide minerals, particularly pyrite (FeS2) in waste dump. Due to low pH and the ability to dissolve metals and other compounds, it can host a number of environmental problems. A phenomenon known as natural or alkaline mine drainage (NAMD) occurs at high pH values ​​when the neutralizing minerals are significantly present in the mine waste or when the oxidation of the sulfide minerals is poor. However, the metals and cationic species, such as Cu, Pb and Cd, are more soluble at low pH. In contrast, elements that form anionic species, such as Se, Cr, V, and Mo, tend to be more soluble at high pH and Ni, Zn, Co, As, and Sb, are soluble at near-neutral pH, and can potentially contaminate mine effluents, even without acidic conditions. Therefore Acid or Neutralization potential (AP&NP) of waste dump is significantly affects on the composition, transfers and fates of contaminations transmitted from waste dump. The aim of this study was to monitoring heavy metals concentrations and assessments of pollution potential of waste dumps in Anguran mine by static method and has been compared by mineralogical approach.
Material and methods
The Angouran Zn-Pb deposit is located in the 135 kilometers southwest part of Zanjan Province, NW Iran. This area belongs to the northwestern part of the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone, a metamorphic belt related to the Zagros orogeny. Angouran mine is one of the most important carbonate hosted Zn-Pb deposits in Iran that mining activity has been created a significant amount of waste dump in around pit. To achieve the goals, the 47 samples taken from different surficial parts of the waste dump were analyzed by using the ICP-MS method to determine the concentration of elements and heavy metals. These elements and metals includes: Ca, Mg, S and As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn. The pollution index (PI) were modeled for heavy metal contamination risk zoning then modified Acid Base Accounting (ABA) static method was used to evaluate of acid and neutralization potential (AP&NP) of the waste dump samples and the results were modeled by Kriging method. At the end, mineralogical approach (Mg + Ca concentration) was used to determine the source of neutralization and to better interpret the static results.
Results and discussion
The results of contamination index showed that zinc, arsenic and cadmium had the highest average contamination index (18.89, 12.13 and 5.8, respectively) and the trend of total metal changes in the region as Zn> As> Cd> Pb > Ni> Cr> Cu was rated.
Datas measured in modified ABA method were modeled in 2D maps using the Kiriging method. Due to the low total sulfur content (less than 1%), all of the samples were Net Neutralization Potential (NNP) with a range of 49- 990 kg calcium carbonate per ton, and the study area was classified into three neutralization potential (NP), High (NP) and Very High (NP) levels. The mineralogical approach (Mg + Ca concentration) was used as a useful tool for better interpretation of modified ABA results and determines the neutralizing source. Mineralogical approach results indicate that calcite species are the main source of neutralization and have high correlation coefficient (R = 0.99) with the modified ABA method. In order to validate the results, the presence of mineral calcite was confirmed by XRD analysis on 4 samples.
Assessment of AP and NP of sulfide – carbonate waste dump in this research can be used as a basis model for other similar mines to control environmental problems and to identify the behavior and to transfer heavy metals in mine drainage in the future. Mineralogical approach results show that neutralizing potential and neutralizing source can be obtained without using expensive mineralogy analyses in this type of carbonate-sulfide deposit



 

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Groundwater salinization in semiarid regions is a limiting factor of use with strategic importance. In this study, the sources of salinity, chemistry, and quality of groundwater in Robat (Khorramabad plain, Iran) were identified through the geochemical methods. Using data analysis, the concentration of cations and anions were recognized with the order of Ca²⁺>Na⁺ >Mg²⁺>K⁺ and HCO₃^-> Cl^-> SO₄²⁺> NO₃^-> F^-, respectively. The high concentration of Na⁺, Cl^-, and EC in some places is attributed to the gypsum and salty formations. In the study area, the salinization processes are identified by natural and artificial activities. The salinization mechanisms are identified by the natural dissolution of gypsum and salt from Gachsaran formation and man-made sources including boreholes drilled through Gachsaran Formation, salt mining, and agricultural activity. Also, the high concentration of nitrate is related to agricultural fertilizers and karstification effects. It is seen that the atmospheric NO₃^-. HCO₃^-, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ concentration exceeded the standard limit in a few samples probably due to the calcareous formation. Besides, hydrochemical facies of the groundwater are Ca- HCO₃ and Na-K-HCO₃. Due to the presence of calcareous and salt bearing formations, 46%, 26%, and 20% of all samples show a higher concentration of Ca²⁺, Na+, and Mg²⁺, respectively, which exceed the permissible limits. Sulfate and fluoride concentrations are less than the permissible limits. However, due to the presence of calcareous formation, salt bearing formation, and use of agricultural fertilizers, 100%, 26%, and 20% of all samples show a higher concentration of HCO₃^-, Cl^-, and NO₃^- than the permissible limits.

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We collected soil samples at 23 sites from the petroleum contaminated soils (PC) in the west of Kermanshah province to investigate the sources and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, source apportionment has been carried out using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF).The total PAHs concentration, have a mean value of 92.79 mg/kg, ranging from 7.37 to 609.67 mg/kg in PC soil samples. The average abundance order of different PAH ring compounds are 3 rings > 5+6 rings > 4 rings> 2 rings. The ecological risk assessment of PAHs revealed that all of the PAHs levels were higher contents than the effects range low (ERL) value and show higher concentrations than the ERM values, except for Pyr, Chr, BaA, BbF, BkF and BaP in the soil samples. The result of benzo (a) pyrene equation (BaP_eq) values indicates that the carcinogenic potency of PAHs should be given more attention due to the impending environmental risk in the study areas. Based on the PMF analysis four sources of PAHs are identified including coal combustion (21.48%), vehicular source (13.74%), unburned petroleum (20.84%) and creosotes (43.92%).Therefore, it was concluded that petroleum activities were major sources of PAHs in west of Kermanshah province.

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In this research work the effect of glycerol and acetone on the properties of a clay soil with low plasticity (CL) was studied through experimental tests. Contaminated soil was prepared by mixing 10, 15 and 20% pure glycerol or acetone with soil. A set of experimental tests including Atterberg limits, compaction, free swelling, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), California Bearing Ratio (CBR), consolidation tests and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were conducted on uncontaminated and contaminated soil. The results showed that the effect of glycerol on contaminated soil was a reduction of Atterberg Limits, Free Swelling, optimum water content and increasing maximum dry unit weight but the effect of acetone was in the opposite trend of glycerol. These variations in the behaviors of soil were the function of percent of glycerol or acetone. In addition, the results indicated that both glycerol and acetone cause the reduction in the values of compressive strength and CBR number of soil but the reduction due to glycerol was more than the acetone. The results of consolidation test showed that the values of compression index (Cc) and swelling index (Cs) were independent of the percent of chemical fluids. The SEM results also reveal that these two contaminations cause some variations in the physical and mechanical properties of a clay soil becase of changing the structure of soil and the effect of these contaminations on the properties of soil was not the same.

Key words: hydrocarbon contamination, Atterberg limits, free swelling, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), CBR and consolidation test.

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Acid mine drainage (AMD) as the most important environmental issue in mining sites is considered a significant source of environmental pollution.  AMD is typically produced by the oxidation of sulphide minerals, especially pyrite. The present study aims to investigate the acid production potential of the wastes of Mehmandoost coal washing plant located in NE Damghan. For this purpose, mineralogical, geochemical, and statistic tests were carried out on 7 representative coal washing waste samples. The obtained results show that although coal washing wastes are not enriched in Cu and Mn, they are moderately enriched in Ni and Co, significantly enriched in Cr, Sb and Zn, strongly enriched in Cd and As, and extremely enriched in Pb and Mo. The main mineral phases presented in the studied samples include quartz, muscovite, clinochlore, kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, calcite and pyrite. In most of the studied samples, the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of the saturated paste is <3 and > 2000 μm/cm, respectively. Moreover, in most samples the Net Neutralization Potential (NNP) is < -20. Also, in most of the samples, the Net Acid Production Potential (NAPP) is positive and the Neutralization Potential ratio (NPR) is < 3. The pH of Net Acid Formation (NAG pH) of these samples is < 4.5 and the ratio of Acid Neutralization Capacity to Maximum Acid Potential Acidity (ANC/MPA) is < 1. According to the results of static tests, there is a possibility of production of acidic drainage by the studied samples, therefore, taking suitable management measures to control acid production in the area is of crucial importance.

 

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