Publications (WR) Water Resources 12-1997 The Migration of arsenic and lead in surface sediments at Three Kids Mine Henderson, Nevada Douglas Brian Sims Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/water_pubs Part of the Biogeochemistry Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Geology Commons, and the Soil Science Commons Repository Citation Sims, D. B. (1997). The Migration of arsenic and lead in surface sediments at Three Kids Mine Henderson, Nevada. Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/water_pubs/21 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in Publications (WR) by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MIGRATION OF ARSENIC AND LEAD IN SURFACE SEDIMENTS AT THREE KIDS MINE HENDERSON, NEVADA by Douglas Brian Sims ^ Bachelor of Arts University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1995 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Water Resources Management r •:'•• 3 338 . Department of Geoscience University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 1997 The Thesis of Douglas B. Sims for the degree of Master of Science in Water Resources Management is approved. Chairperson, Vernon Hodge, Ph.D. & Examining Conmuttee Member, Kevin Johannesson, Ph.D. 1- ^IL Examining (Committee Member, Klaus Stetzenbach, Ph.D. Faculty Representative, tjary Palmer, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate College, Ronald W. Smith, Ph.D. University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 1997 ABSTRACT The Migration of Arsenic and Lead in Surface Sediments at Three Kids Mine- Henderson Nevada by Douglas Brian Sims Dr. Vernon F. Hodge, Examination Committee Chair Professor of Chemistry University of Nevada, Las Vegas This study focused on the'distribution of arsenic and lead in surface sediments at Three Kids Mine in Henderson, Nevada. The mine site encompasses approximately 470 acres of desert and is situated above two developing communities (Lake Las Vegas and Calico Ridge) and the Las Vegas Valley's water source (Lake Mead). Transport of arsenic and lead appears to have occurred within a limited range in both the eastern and western washes on the eastern and western sides of Three Kids Mine. Concentrations of arsenic range between 20 mg/kg (ppm) and 1130 mg/kg and between 20 mg/kg and 8400 mg/kg for lead. Samples gathered from the north side of the site indicate a mixing of the natural soils which are low in arsenic and lead with much higher arsenic and lead levels which apparently originated from the milling process employed on the site. This migration of arsenic and lead apparently resulted from the transport of sediments containing arsenic and lead down gradient in surface runoff during storm iii events. Sorption of arsenic and lead onto the surfaces of soil particles is postulated to be the major source of transport during wet periods for this site. As a result, transport of arsenic and lead from the Three Kids Mine could possibly pose a threat to Lake Las Vegas if a catastrophic storm event or repeated storm events were to occur within a short period of time. tv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF MAPS vui ACKNOWLEDGMENTS : ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Environmental Chemistry 7 Arsenic 8 Lead 12 Mechanism of Transport 14 Topics to be Addressed , 17 CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND 19 Environmental Setting ' 23 Geological Setting 23 Hydrologic Setting 24 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 27 Technical Approach 27 Field Sampling 27 Precipitation Measurements 31 Sediment Transport 33 Laboratory Procedures 34 Glassware... 34 Digestion Procedure 34 Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure 35 Analyses 37 Quality Control/Quality Assurance 38 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 39 Concentration of Arsenic and Lead 39 Precipitation at the Three Kids Mine 50 Sediment Transpor 52 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 55 Future Study 56 Appendix I Mathematical Modeling Equations 57 Appendix n Total Soil Digestion 59 Appendix m TCLP Digestion and Extraction Forms 62 Appendix IV Analytical Results 67 Appendix V Chain of Custody 75 Bibliography 78 VI LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Action Standards for As and Pb 7 Table 2 Thermodynamic Data for Arsenic Species 10 Table 3 Thermodynamic Data for Species of Lead 16 Table 4 Calibration Standards for GFAA 38 Table 5 Analytical Results for Arsenic from Three Kids Mine-1996 41 Table 6 Analytical Results for Lead from Three Kids Mine-1996 42 Table 7 Rainfall; April through September-1996 51 vu LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 As-O-H System ! 9 Figure 2 Pb-S-C-O-H System 15 Figure 3 Arsenic Concentration as a Function of Distance from Sample 13; Western Wash 45 Figure 4 Lead Concentration as a Function of Distance from Sample 13; Western Wash 46 Figure 5 Arsenic Concentration as a Function of Distance from Sample?; Eastern Wash 47 Figure 6 Lead Concentration as a Function of Distance from Sample?; Eastern Wash 48 VUl LIST OF MAPS Map 1 Site Location ! 3 Map 2 Henderson Lead Site and Three Kids Mine Private Property 4 Map 3 Lake Las Vegas Parkway 5 Map 4 Three Kids Mine Preliminary Assessment 28 Map 5 Sample Locations 30 Map 6 Rain Gage Locations 32 Map 7 Sample Locations by Concentration (Lead/Arsenic) 44 IX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wife for all of her support and understanding during graduate school. I would also like to extend a sincere thank you to the members of my committee; Dr. Vernon Hodge, Dr. Kevin Johannesson, Dr. Klaus Stetzenbach, and Dr. Gary Palmer for their help and guidance in the preparation of this thesis. Without their assistance this study would not have been possible. I also wish to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. David Kreamer, Director of Water Resources Management- Department of Geoscience, for believing in me and encouraging me to apply j- to this program. Additionally, I would also like to thank Charles Swallow for his assistance in collecting, cataloging, and digesting soil samples taken for this study. Clifton Jones and Dr. Judy Gebhart of ICF Kaiser Engineers also deserve thanks for their contributions, as well. Finally, I would like to thank the staff of SPL-LAS (formerly Lockheed Analytical Services) for the use of their laboratory and instrumentation. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Although mining activities during the last 100 hundred years have contributed to the economic growth of Clark County, Nevada, the by-products of these activities have had a negative impact on the environment. For example, hazardous chemicals such as cyanide, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid were used and released into the environment, and potentially poisonous elements such as j cadmium, mercury, lead, and arsenic, were concentrated from natural sources during the milling process. These metals and compounds may have polluted the soils at many mining sites including the Three Kids Mine (Goddard, 1988). A determination of the extent of contamination at the Three Kids Mine may be indicative of the environmental problems likely to have occurred at numerous other sites throughout Clark County. The number of mining sites throughout Clark County is greater than 1000+ (Genson, 1996), and therefore, the impact that mining has had on soils in Clark County is potentially significant. Understanding the contamination at the Three Kids Mine may provide a valuable basis for understanding and predicting the environmental problems associated with other past and present mining operations. Mining activities at the 1 2 Three Kids Mine produced lead, mercury, nickel and arsenic as by-products during the extraction of manganese (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [BOR], 1995). The waste produced from the refining was either volatilized in a kiln and discharged through smoke stacks or discarded as slag and tailings in large evaporation ponds (Johnson and Trengove, 1956). The evaporation ponds were not engineered to contain the tailings for a significant amount of time (BOR, 1995). Rather, they were unlined, contained by coarse (rocky) berms constructed of overburden, and lacked spillways and diversion structures to handle run-off associated with infrequent but violent storm events. This thesis research focuses on assessing the contamination of soils by arsenic and lead, surrounding the Three Kids Mine. Of particular concern is the j potential contamination, from the mine, via the transport of contaminated sediments by surface runoff during storm events. Situated down gradient from Three Kids Mine are the communities of Calico Ridge and Lake Las Vegas. It is currently unknown if these two communities have been affected by heavy metals from the Three Kids Mine. Prior to the inception of this study, two earlier studies (Envirocon, 1991, 1995) focused on the Henderson Lead Site and the right-of-way for the Lake Las Vegas Parkway. Both sites are located adjacent to Three Kids Mine (see Maps 1, 2, and 3). The Henderson Lead site, which is included on the EPA's CERCLA (Superfund) list as a hazardous materials contaminated site, and Lake Las Vegas Parkway were investigated prior to a land transfer (BOR, 1995). This transfer exchanged land, classified as U.S. Bureau of Reclamation withdrawn lands, on the I .0§0 ) ' * HENDERSON PHOTOREVISED : Henderson Lead Site and Three Kids Mine Private Property Map 2 ^ HENDERSON, NV PHOTOREVISED 1983 ENLARGED BY 150% 1:16.000 Map 3: Lake Las Vegas Parkway north side of Lake tv^d Drive for U.S.