title: Impact of the disposal and re-use of fly ash on water quality: the case of the Koradi and Khaperkheda thermal power plants (Maharashtra, India).
abstract: An increasing amount of fly ash from thermal power plants is produced in India every year. Its disposal is generally done in ponds after it is mixed together in suitable proportion of water to form a slurry. Fly ash from Koradi and Khaperkheda thermal power plants (Nagpur, Maharashtra) is commonly disposed in an area characterized by the presence of many small villages where the population uses the groundwater for drinking and domestic purposes. Here, the groundwater locally exceeds the concentration limits recommended by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS, 2005) and by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2008) for Mg(2+), Ca(2+), NO3(-), SO4(2-), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and for some minor elements like As, Mo, V and U. A new geological map of the study area has been prepared to understand the possible water-rock interactions. An extensive geochemical survey of groundwater, stream water and fly ash was also carried out to clarify the possible origin of the pollutants by discriminating between geogenic and anthropogenic sources and to assess the influence of the ash ponds on water quality. The analytical results suggest that a large part of the sulfates in the groundwater of the villages of Masada, Khairi and Kawatha originate from the infiltration of industrial water from tens of factories that mix fly ash with relatively high quantities of gypsum and lime for the production of bricks. In addition, the interaction with the relatively U-rich Gondwana units, like Talchir formation, is probably the cause of the high concentration of this element. Results showed how the relatively high concentrations of Mo, As, B and F in circulating waters are linked to the leaching from fly ash, also pointing out a direct spatial correlation between the concentration of fluorides in the groundwater and their closeness to the ash ponds.
authors.affiliation: CNR - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, via Salaria km. 29.300, 00010 Montelibretti Roma, Italy. Electronic address: massimo.spadoni@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spadoni
authors.affiliation: CNR - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, via Salaria km. 29.300, 00010 Montelibretti Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voltaggio
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; CNR - Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sacchi
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanam
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Pujari
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Padmakar
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Labhasetwar
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020, India.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Wate
mesh_terms: D060729:Coal Ash; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D011210:Power Plants; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D007220:Industrial Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Brick factories; Fly ash; Groundwater quality; Water pollution