ANTHROPOGENIC RELEASE OF MERCURY AND OTHER POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONTAMINANTS FROM A COAL POWER PLANT IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT

The relative abundance of coal and rapid industrialization led to the establishment of several coal power plants as a dependable power source in the United States. The Bridgeport Harbor Station was a coal-burning power plant that operated exclusively on subbituminous coal from 1968-2021 and was responsible for generating necessary energy for the neighboring towns. Studies have shown that the burning of coal is responsible for the anthropogenic release of aerosols, lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, and other trace elements into the atmosphere, which often lead to the enrichment of the neighboring terrestrial and aquatic environment through impaction, sedimentation, rainout, washout, and acid rain precipitation. This study examined the impact of the Bridgeport Harbor Station on the chemical signature and enrichment of mercury and other fifteen chemical elements (Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn) in the topsoil surrounding the Bridgeport coal power plant. In order to address this objective, a total of twenty topsoil samples were collected around the plant, and analyzed for acid and soluble extractable elements, basic soil parameters such as particle size distribution, and organic matter contents. Using JMP statistical software, the geochemical data and soil constituent materials were evaluated. Further, the calculation of the soil enrichment Factors (EF) and Geoaccumulation Indices (GI) provide useful information about the degree of soil enrichments as well as the overall fate and transport of elements within the topsoil of Bridgeport Harbor Station.