Trace elements in the terrestrial environment of a coal-fired powerhouse

A coal-fired powerhouse at the Savannah River Plant, Aiken, South Carolina operated for more than 20 years without electrostatic precipitators and consumed about 360,000,000 kilograms of coal per year. Twenty-nine trace elements were measured in fly ash, and in samples of soil, vegetation, and ground water collected along a 29-km traverse centered on the powerhouse. There were statistically significant effects of the stack releases upon the concentration of Ba, Be, Cu, Hg, Mn, Se, and Sr in soil; Be, Co, Mo, Sr, and V in vegetation; and Co and Mn in ground water. The Ba, Hg, Sr, and Mn in fly ash are less available to plants than the same elements in soil.