Archived
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Location
Lexington, Kentucky
Start Date
6-5-2026 10:30 AM
End Date
6-5-2026 11:00 AM
Description
The EPA CCR Legacy Rule requires utilities to identify any areas of land on which noncontainerized accumulation of CCR is received, is placed, or is otherwise managed. While performing preliminary delineation efforts for implementation of the Legacy Rule, it has become apparent that not all encountered materials are easily identified through visual means. Depending on unit location, previous uses of the land underlying the potential CCR Management Units, and the type of native soils present, there may be uncertainty if an encountered material is CCR, native soil, or another non-CCR material. In cases where the color/texture of CCR fill is similar to native soils, field-based analytical methods may be necessary to adequately identify and/or delineate CCR materials. Portable Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (pED-XRF) spectroscopy is a portable and fast analytical tool capable of generating accurate molecular information about CCR in the field. However, the use of this technology in environmental studies has traditionally been limited by poor calibration routines failing to accurately quantify element concentrations. With recent hardware advancements in pED-XRF spectroscopy, this presentation will discuss a novel approach to use pED-XRF to identify and confirm the type of CCR (ash or gypsum) in active and historic comingled surface impoundments, landfills, and CCR management units. This presentation will also describe expanding our pED-XRF method to confirm the presence (and type) of CCR in mixed-media (CCR+Soil) fill and describe future uses of this technology in evaluating CCR for rare earth elements.
Document Type
Presentation
Archival?
Archival
Included in
Energy Systems Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Mining Engineering Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Structural Materials Commons, Sustainability Commons
Novel Use of pED-XRF for Identification of CCR in Fill Units and Comingled Media
Lexington, Kentucky
The EPA CCR Legacy Rule requires utilities to identify any areas of land on which noncontainerized accumulation of CCR is received, is placed, or is otherwise managed. While performing preliminary delineation efforts for implementation of the Legacy Rule, it has become apparent that not all encountered materials are easily identified through visual means. Depending on unit location, previous uses of the land underlying the potential CCR Management Units, and the type of native soils present, there may be uncertainty if an encountered material is CCR, native soil, or another non-CCR material. In cases where the color/texture of CCR fill is similar to native soils, field-based analytical methods may be necessary to adequately identify and/or delineate CCR materials. Portable Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (pED-XRF) spectroscopy is a portable and fast analytical tool capable of generating accurate molecular information about CCR in the field. However, the use of this technology in environmental studies has traditionally been limited by poor calibration routines failing to accurately quantify element concentrations. With recent hardware advancements in pED-XRF spectroscopy, this presentation will discuss a novel approach to use pED-XRF to identify and confirm the type of CCR (ash or gypsum) in active and historic comingled surface impoundments, landfills, and CCR management units. This presentation will also describe expanding our pED-XRF method to confirm the presence (and type) of CCR in mixed-media (CCR+Soil) fill and describe future uses of this technology in evaluating CCR for rare earth elements.
