Predicting Potential Aluminum Contamination of Surface and Ground Waters from Acid Sulfate Enriched Drainages Emanating from Low Neutralization Capacity Watersheds

The composition of soil solutions and surface waters emanating from unreclaimed, or partially reclaimed, strip-mined watersheds with low buffering capacity in Kentucky were compared with soil solution compositions of unaffected strata in the watershed. The data suggests that almost 20 years after mining, most soil solutions and surface waters of the disturbed areas still contain high levels of undissolved Al, controlled primarily by the solubilities of a jurbanite-like material (upper limit) and alunite (lower limit)