Contaminants in Roadside Soils: Contaminants from Specific Sources

Significant concentrations of PAHs and HCs were recorded in soil, beneath an asphalt cover. The site had not received significant inputs from internal combustion vehicles and the contaminants would appear to have come from leaching of the asphalt surface. (1999)

Corrugated steel plate culverts in connection with the location in the soil environment are exposed to risk of soil corrosion. The paper characterizes the most important factor affecting formation of corrosion in the soil, i.e. resistivity. The obtained results indicate the peril of the soil corrosion occurrence in the corrugated steel plate culverts, especially located on the national and provincial roads.(2013)

Glass beads embedded in pavement markings provide retroreflectivity to ensure safe driving. Recently, elevated concentrations of arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and lead (Pb) have been observed in glass beads imported to the US. After an initial assessment of total concentrations in glass beads, a factorial study was conducted to determine the impact of environmentally relevant factors on leaching: pH (4, 7, and 10), chemicals applied on roadways (NaCl, CaCl 2 , KCH 3 COO , and KCl), ionic strength (10 −2 –10 −1   M ), particle size (>100 and <37  μm ), and time (18 h to 160 days). 2013

This research was undertaken to study the implications of using glass beads containing elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids on roadways. 2011

Retroreflective glass beads used in pavement markings are a critical component of highway safety.
However, reclaimed glass cullet may contain elevated levels of arsenic and lead that can be passed through to the final product. 2014

This thesis addresses the environmental implications of using recycled materials in road and landfill cover constructions. The focus is primarily on the leaching of inorganic constituents from six types of materials: incineration ashes, copper smelter slag, blast-furnace slag, recycled concrete, natural rock and contaminated soil. 2008

After runoff from melting snow, deicing salts accumulate in soils along roadsides, impacting the properties of soil matrix and soil water, and suppressing road vegetation growth. To estimate the adverse effects of different types of chemical deicers such as chloride, nitrate, glycerin and industrial salt on soil health, 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5% concentrations of deicer solutions are sprinkled on a soil surface at seven-day intervals for two months. (2012)

Heavy metals deposited on road surfaces and transferred to roadside environments by rainfall and snowmelt runoff can have serious impacts on receiving ecosystems. Infiltration is an effective best management practice for controlling metal contamination in runoff, although metals retention within infiltration facilities depends on a number of factors. In cold climates, deicing compounds have been shown to mobilize heavy metals putting receiving waters at risk.

The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, W and Zn were measured in road runoff and total deposition at two Swedish field sites during one year. It was found that the concentrations of most elements increased significantly during the winter, up to one order of magnitude. It was found that the increased concentrations were due to more intense wearing of the pavement during the winter because of the use of studded tires in combination with the chemical effects caused by the use of deicing salts. 2003

Soil was sampled along two lines of a highway, 0.5 m and 2.5 m from the asphalt surface, and in an infiltration pond for highway runoff. 1998

Compared to storm water runoff, urban roadway snow exposed to traffic and winter maintenance practices has a much greater capacity to accumulate and retrain heavy metals and other anthropogenic constituents. Heavy metals once released in the environment are not degraded and partition between the dissolved and particulate-bound fractions. 2002

Sediments that had accumulated during the winter season, and which were left at the surface when the snow had melted, were studied with regard to physical and chemical characteristics. The investigation was carried out in the city of Luleå, which is located in northern Sweden. 1998

Fly ash produced by power plants in the United States occasionally contains significant amounts of unburned carbon due to the use of the increased prevalence of low nitrogen-oxide and sulphur-oxide burners in recent years. This ash cannot be reused in concrete production due to its reactivity with air entrainment admixtures, so it is largely placed in landfills. Highway structures have high potential for large volume use of high carbon fly ashes (HCFAs). However, in such applications, even though mechanical properties of the fly ash-amended highway base layers and embankments are deemed satisfactory, a key issue that precludes such highway embankments built with fly ash is the potential for negative groundwater effects caused by metals in the fly ash.

Coal combustion byproducts such as high-carbon fly ash (HCFA) are commonly used in highway construction as a stabilizing agent or soil amendment. Reuse of HCFA in geotechnical structures, particularly in road embankment construction, keeps these materials out of landfills. However, it is important to determine the environmental suitability of HCFA as a soil amendment because it poses a great potential for metal leaching. (2013)

This thesis addresses the environmental implications of using recycled materials in road and landfill cover constructions. The focus is primarily on the leaching of inorganic constituents from six types of materials: incineration ashes, copper smelter slag, blast-furnace slag, recycled concrete, natural rock and contaminated soil. 2008

The objective of this project is to reduce the toxic heavy metal leaching from coal fly ash so that the fly ash may be used for road surface or related applications.

This project assessed the physical and chemical characteristics of fly ashes produced from trona injection plants (used for SO2 exhaust control) and investigated the leaching of a group of concerned inorganic contaminants from these fly ashes. A protocol was developed to quantify the availability and stability of As and Se in raw bituminous fly ash under various field conditions. The effectiveness of EDTA-washing in remediating fly ash was also studied. 2011

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To assess the contamination induced by traffic at the vicinity of a highway (A31, France), several complementary studies were carried out on two sites, with different profiles and traffic intensity. 2004

Road transport exhaust have become one of the most serious environmental problems in many cities and their contribution to the global diffusion of atmospheric pollutants is increasing every year. The dispersion of these contaminants is determined by weather conditions, and metals may be deposited in surrounding areas such as roadside soil and building facades. 2012