ASSESSING STREAM AND SOIL SEDIMENT CONTAMINATION BY TRACE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SCANTIC RIVER WATERSHED, EAST WINDSOR, CT

Historical industrial sites and agricultural areas are common sources of anthropogenic contamination in East Windsor, CT. This study examines the impact of human activities on the concentration and mobility of trace and major elements within stream sediments of the Scantic River drainage systems, East Windsor, CT. To conduct the geochemical assessment, we collected twenty (20) sediment samples from the Scantic River and its tributaries. Samples were air dried, thoroughly homogenized, and sieved through a 2-mm sieve size and analyzed for particle size analysis using the hydrometer method. In addition, subsets of the samples were acid digested using the EPA 3052 method and analyzed for fourteen (14) trace and major elements using an Inductive Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) at the Virginia Tech Soil Testing Laboratory. Results showed that trace elements were approximately log-normally distributed with the average decreasing order of abundance: Fe>Al>Mg>Ca>K>P>Mn>Na>Zn>Cu>Cr>Pb>As>Cd. Positive significant correlations exist among elements, suggestive of association by virtue of similar source or predominant geochemical processes they are exposed to. Using GIS maps with overlays of hydrology and land use activity, correlations between elements and agricultural activities within the watershed were examined. Calculation of element enrichment and geoaccumulation index on sediment samples showed degree of enrichment and possible sources of these elements.