Inventory and Statistical Characterization of Inorganic Soil Constituents in Illinois

Anderson, Andrew; Yacucci, Mark

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110035 Copy

Description

Title

Inventory and Statistical Characterization of Inorganic Soil Constituents in Illinois

Author(s)

• Anderson, Andrew
• Yacucci, Mark

Issue Date

2021-06

Keyword(s)

• Planning and Design
• Environmental Quality
• Risk Assessment

Abstract

This report presents a statistical analysis of the Regulated Substances Library (RSL) developed by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The RSL is comprised of surficial soil chemistry data obtained from rights-of-way subsurface soil sampling conducted for routine preliminary site investigations. The 3.7-million-record RSL database is compared with four independent studies of inorganic soil constituents of naturally occurring soils in Illinois. A selection of 22 inorganic soil analytes are examined in this study: Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Hg, Ni, K, Se, Na, Tl, V, and Zn. RSL database summary statistics, mean, median, minimum, maximum, 5th percentile, and 95th percentile, are determined for Illinois counties and for recognized environmental concern, non-recognized environmental concern, and de minimis site contamination classifications. The RSL database at a 95% confidence level is compared with current and proposed thresholds for defining naturally occurring soil concentrations for the selected analytes. The revised thresholds proposed by Cahill in 2017 are predominantly larger than the current standards found in the Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives rules and are in better agreement with observed distributions of soil concentrations for both naturally occurring and RSL soils. A notable exception is antimony (Sb), for which Cahill proposed a reduced threshold similar in magnitude to the median for many Illinois Department of Transportation districts.

Publisher

Illinois Center for Transportation/Illinois Department of Transportation

Series/Report Name or Number

FHWA-ICT-21-006

ISSN

0197-9191

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110035

DOI

https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/21-006

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

IDOT-ICT-183-HS

Copyright and License Information

No restrictions. This document is available through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.

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