Mercury in waters, soils, and sediments of the New Jersey Coastal Plain: A comparison of regional distribution and mobility with the mercury contamination at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic County, New Jersey

Barringer, Julia L.; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A.

Abstract:

Mercury in soils, surface water, and groundwater at the William J. Hughes Technical Center , Atlantic County, New Jersey, has been found at levels that exceed established background concentrations in Coastal Plain waters, and, in some cases, New Jersey State standards for mercury in various media. As of 2012, it is not known whether this mercury is part of regional mercury contamination or whether it is related to former military activities. Regionally, groundwater supplying about 700 domestic wells in the New Jersey Coastal Plain is contaminated with mercury that appears to be derived from anthropogenic inputs, such as agricultural pesticide use and atmospheric deposition. High levels of mercury occasionally are found in Coastal Plain soils, but disturbance during residential development on former agricultural land is thought to have mobilized any mercury applied during farming, a hypothesis borne out by experiments leaching mercury from soils. In the unsewered residential areas with mercury-contaminated groundwater, septic-system effluent is believed to create reducing conditions in which mercury sorbed to subsoils is mobilized to groundwater. In comparing the levels of mercury found in soils, sediments, streamwater, and groundwater at the William J. Hughes Technical Center site with those found regionally, mercury concentrations in groundwater in the region are, in some cases, substantially higher than those found in groundwater at the William J. Hughes Technical Center site. Nevertheless, concentrations of mercury in streamwater at the site are, in some instances, higher than most found regionally. The mercury contents in soils and sediment at the William J. Hughes Technical Center site are substantially higher than those found to date (2012) in the region, indicating that a source other than regional sources may be present at the site.

Genre:

USGS Numbered Series

ProdID:

70040406

Citation Author:

Barringer, Julia L.; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A.

Citation Contributing Office:

New Jersey Water Science Center

Citation Datum:

North American Datum of 1983

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Citation Language:

English

Citation Larger Work Title:

Citation LatN:

41.357400

Citation LatS:

38.928600

Citation LonE:

-73.902500

Citation LonW:

-75.559800

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Citation Phsyical Description:

vii, 34 p.

Citation Projection:

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 18

Citation Public Comments:

Prepared in Cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Citation Publisher:

U.S. Geological Survey

Citation Series:

Scientific Investigations Report

Citation Series Code:

SIR

Citation Series Number:

2012-5115

Citation Search Results Text:

Mercury in waters, soils, and sediments of the New Jersey Coastal Plain: A comparison of regional distribution and mobility with the mercury contamination at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic County, New Jersey; 2012; SIR; 2012-5115; Barringer, Julia L.; Szabo, Zoltan; Reilly, Pamela A.