U.S.-Korea Cooperative Research: Development of Technologies for Heavy Metal Remediation of Mine Tailings in Korea

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

0338406 Davis, University of Maryland Professor Allen P. Davis, Director of the Maryland Water Resources Research Center of the University of Maryland proposes to collaborate in environmental remediation research with Dr. Kyoung-Woong Kim of the Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology. The detailed research investigation will be funded through the Korean side via a companion KOSEF proposal. This NSF proposal requests support for travel to Korea by the U.S. team and some laboratory supplies. The goal of their research is to develop advanced mine tailings characterization techniques and remediation technologies for the removal and/or stabilization of heavy metals and arsenic in contaminated mine materials at several abandoned mine sites in Korea. As part of the project, four U.S. students (2 each for 2 summers) will travel to Korea to learn first hand about mine tailings characterization and remediation technologies, but also to be exposed to the environmental problems, research, and approaches to solutions in Korea. Intellectual Merit: This research will provide information about tailing characteristics and factors affecting the behaviors of metals and arsenic in the tailings. Both metals-removal and stabilization technologies will be advanced through fundamental laboratory and pilot investigations on characterization, monitoring, and remediation of soils and mine tailings. Collaboration between Dr. Kim and co-workers in Korea, together with Dr. Davis and his students, creates a unique team to address the mine tailings problem and for information exchange. Dr. Davis is an engineer with experience in heavy metals chemistry, while Dr. Kim is a geochemist whose recent work has involved new biomarker techniques to quantify metal contamination in soils and to monitor the progress of remediation and stabilization processes. Work will be done at both the University of Maryland, with excellent access to laboratory and instrumentation facilities, and in Korea, where the investigators will have easier access to mine tailings and a regulatory environment that will permit the necessary field studies. Broader Impacts: Benefits to both the U.S. and Korean teams include learning new analysis and remediation techniques and gaining experience with different instrumentation. This experience will broaden the global understanding of environmental issues of all participants, but particularly the U.S. student participants. A special effort will be made to attract students from underrepresented groups to this project, primarily through personal contact with other faculty members at the University of Maryland and at local Historically Black Institutions. Both the PI and the Korean counterpart have excellent records in dissemination of results through conferences, refereed venues, and web sites. Nonetheless, the greatest benefit of this work may be the reduction of heavy metals and arsenic levels in agricultural areas near the abandoned metal mines in Korea that will be studied. This has been a significant environmental problem in Korea since local populations are being directly exposed to the contamination. The results of this work will reduce the metal toxicity risk to those local exposed populations.