ENFORCE35583 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

above parameters are those judged important by the agencies responsible for reclamation of coal mines in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico. The state of Colorado has not developed separate criteria and uses these parameters and the corresponding suspect levels in judging suitability of a material for use as a plant growth medium. Additional review of chemical analyses from roof and floor material (taken from drill holes within the B-seam) showed no additional chemical constituents which approached either detection limits, or suspect levels for plant growth medium. Results Table 1 depicts the results of the laboratory analysis of the samples taken at the Lower Refuse Pile. Sample 96LRP1 was refuse taken from the ramp. Sample 96LRP2 was a mix of refuse and SCM. Sample 96LRP3 was SCM taken from the former stockpile location on the bench of the Lower Refuse Pile. The sample locations are depicted on the data sheets in Appendix 1. The results of the physical analysis of the refuse, refuse/SCM mix, and SCM show no significant difference in the physical composition of the three materials. The refuse itself is classified as a sandy loam, while the refuse/SCM miz and the SCM itself are both classified as loans. In any event, neither of these textures is limiting in potential as a plant growth medium (Table 2). The chemical makeup of the three samples show differences in nearly all cases. The general trend is that the refuse contains slightly .greater concentrations of sodium, magnesium, selenium, boron, and molybdenum (Table 1). As a result, the values for pH, EC, and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) are slightly higher than those for the refuse/SCM mix or SCM. This result is to be expected, given that the origin of the refuse is directly from underground, unweathered rock. Comparing the sample parameter values from Table 1 with the suitability criteria (for topsoii) in Table 2, sample values exceed the suspect levels in three cases. The SAR value for refuse is 15.9, whereas the suitability criteria generally identify an average value of 15.0 as being suspect for suitable plant growth medium. It should be noted that this sample value is borderline for suitability within the state criteria identified in Table 2. The sample values for selenium exceed those identified as suspect for the refuse and SCM samples. Interestingly, a mix of refuse and SCM reduced the selenium concentration to a level below the suspect level (Table 2). For all other samples and all other parameters, the sample values for the specific parameters were below (generally significantly) the suspect levels identified in Table 2. -2-