ANALYSIS OF PRECIPITATES ASSOCIATED WITH AN ALKALINE LEACHATE, GULF STATE STEEL PROPERTY, GADSDEN, ALABAMA

Calcite stalactites ranging in length from several inches to a foot long are found on the southeastern slag pile at the former Gadsden Steel Mill of the Gulf States Steel Corporation. The surrounding sediments adjacent and down gradient from the slag pile are coated milky white. Preliminary XRD results have shown that the milky white material coating the sediments and the stalactites are composed of calcite. Preliminary major elemental analyses (X-ray fluorescence (XRF)) and Inductively Coupled Plasma conducted on these stalactites are composed predominantly of the following elements: Ca, Si, Al, Mn, Na, K, Fe, and Mg. The following trace metals were found in the stalactite sample: Ba, Br, Co, Cr, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, S, Sc, Sr, V, Zn, Zr, Nd, and Eu. Preliminary field pH measurements indicate that the stalactites precipitating on the slag pile, waters adjacent to the slag pile, and sediments down gradient from the slag pile have a pH ranging from 11-12. High pH waters precipitate coatings or stalactites when these waters are in contact with more neutral waters and air. These stalactites and the sediment coating result from the dissolution of the iron and steelmaking slag. Although acidic waters, leachtes, and precipitates are more common in the Piedmont Province, alkaline waters, leachates, and precipitates are rare in the Piedmont Province. This study will add to small, but growing, body of literature on alkaline leachate and precipitates emanating from iron and steelmaking slag.