ABSTRACT
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 Screening-Level GIS Tools for Modeling Environmental Contamination from Mining Activities
Track:  Water Resources
Author:   Ferdi Hellweger

A geographic information system (GIS) was developed for the Bolivian government. The purpose of the system is to support the management of past, present and future mining activities. Basic GIS functionality (e.g. zooming, layering) is provided by Esri's ArcView GIS software. To supplement these standard GIS functions three screening-level environmental modeling tools were developed. These tools estimate the impact of mining activities on surface water, groundwater and air quality. The models compute steady-state metal exposure concentrations in surface water, groundwater and air. The model results are presented as new data layers (themes) in the GIS. This way exposure concentration can be overlaid with population centers. The output of the surface water model is represented as colored (or thickened) lines. An X/Y plot of concentration vs. distance can also be created. The output of the groundwater and air models is presented as contours of metal concentration. The models are fully integrated in the graphical user interface (GUI) of ArcView. The user interacts with the models through pop-up windows. The input and output of the models is stored in the GIS database. All the models are based on established FORTRAN models that are run off-line. The models are run off-line, because processing speed is an important factor for numerical modeling (FORTRAN is much faster than Avenue). The surface water model, for example, uses EPA's WASTOX framework. The presentation will focus on the integration of the models with the GIS. The user friendliness of the models will be demonstrated in a live demo. The impact of a proposed (hypothetical scenario) mining site on surface water, groundwater and air quality will be investigated.

Ferdi Hellweger
HydroQual, Inc.
1 Lethbridge Plaza
Mahwah, NJ07430
USA

Telephone: 201-529-5151
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