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Naturally Occurring Metals in Ground Water

By Thomas Kwader P.G., Ph.D.
June 1, 2002
The occurrence of metals in ground water often is an unwelcome surprise -- both at sites of known contamination and in drinking water wells located far away from any known source of contamination, explains Thomas Kwader.

The occurrence of metals in ground water often is an unwelcome surprise - both at sites of known contamination and in drinking water wells located far away from any known source of contamination. Almost all metals are present naturally at trace or very low levels in the subsurface formations throughout the world. Admittedly, these levels may be immeasurable at parts per billion, trillion, quadrillion, etc., but nevertheless, metals are likely to be present. Metals prefer to concentrate in certain environments favorable to their deposition. Some metals actually form minerals with fairly high concentrations, i.e., pyrite, galena, etc.

Clays are Mother Nature's "metal magnet." In the sedimentary record, after the sands and limestones are sorted out, the clay layers collect the leftover impurities that often include metals and trace elements. As you already know, some formations have relatively no clay or clay layers, or clays may appear ubiquitously (evenly) distributed throughout the formation.

Since clays, by definition, are very small in grain size, they often are difficult to remove from the formation well during development. Clays, containing significant quantities of metals and possibly other major naturally occurring elements (including radionuclieds), are removed from the well during sampling. Water samples, collected and intended to be analyzed for metals, are acidified to preserve the sample. The acid dissolves any metals present, particularly from the soil matrix. Water samples that are turbid usually contain higher proportions of metals. Metal analyses from turbid samples generally are not representative of the metal concentrations naturally occurring in the formation water because formation water generally is non-turbid or clear due to its low velocity and filtering action as the ground water moves through the formation.

A problem arises when there may truly be a site metal contaminant such as lead, which is both naturally occurring and a contaminant. In this case, background or upgradient samples should be collected to determine naturally occurring levels. This level then should be subtracted from the site sample concentrations to determine the amount above the background level.

In summary, when sampling for metals, follow the required sampling protocol, but try to obtain the clearest, non-turbid water sample as possible.

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Thomas Kwader, Ph.D. , P.G., is a regular contributor to The Driller.

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