Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014MD316B

Steel Slag-Induced Surface Water and Groundwater Contamination (Graduate Fellowship)

Institute: Maryland
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2014-09-30
Total Federal Funds: $6,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $14,561

Principal Investigators: Kaye Brubaker

Project Summary: Large quantities of by-products are produced annually during the process of steel/iron production. Steel slag is one of these by-products. There is a growing interest in reusing steel slag in highway structural fills although concerns have been raised for its reuse due to its high pH and metal leaching behavior under alkaline conditions. Water quality is a critical measure of the Chesapeake Bay’s health. In order to evaluate the groundwater and surface water impacts of trace metal leaching from both virgin and treated steel slag samples, an experimental study will be conducted through a series of sequential column leach tests. The extent of groundwater contamination in typical highways will be simulated with a recently developed numerical model, whereas a new model to simulate transport in surface waters will be developed as part of the proposed study.