Natural and man-made hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California—study progress as of May 2017, and a summative-scale approach to estimate background Cr(VI) concentrations | Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)

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HERO ID

5371878

Reference Type

Technical Report

Title

Natural and man-made hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California—study progress as of May 2017, and a summative-scale approach to estimate background Cr(VI) concentrations

Author(s)

Izbicki, JA; Groover, K

Publisher

U.S. Geological Survey

Location

Reston, VA

Report Number

Open-File Report 2018-1045

Number of Pages

Language

English

DOI

10.3133/ofr20181045

URL

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20181045
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Abstract

This report describes (1) work done between January 2015 and May 2017 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), background study and (2) the summative-scale approach to be used to estimate the extent of anthropogenic (man-made) Cr(VI) and background Cr(VI) concentrations near the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) natural gas compressor station in Hinkley, California. Most of the field work for the study was completed by May 2017. The summative-scale approach and calculation of Cr(VI) background were not well-defined at the time the USGS proposal for the background Cr(VI) study was prepared but have since been refined as a result of data collected as part of this study. The proposed summative scale consists of multiple items, formulated as questions to be answered at each sampled well. Questions that compose the summative scale were developed to address geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical constraints on Cr(VI) within the study area. Each question requires a binary (yes or no) answer. A score of 1 will be assigned for an answer that represents data consistent with anthropogenic Cr(VI); a score of –1 will be assigned for an answer that represents data inconsistent with anthropogenic Cr(VI). The areal extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI) estimated from the summative-scale analyses will be compared with the areal extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI) estimated on the basis of numerical groundwater flow model results, along with particle-tracking analyses. On the basis of these combined results, background Cr(VI) values will be estimated for “Mojave-type” deposits, and other deposits, in different parts of the study area outside the summative-scale mapped extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI).

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