IMAGING AND MICROANALYSES OF MERCURY IN FLOOD-PLAIN SOILS OF EAST FORK POPLAR-CREEK

Electron probe microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry, optical microscopy, and x-ray diffractometry were used to locate, identify, and analyze Hg-bearing matter in the s oils from the East Fork Poplar Creek floodplain located adjacent to D. O.E.'s Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Several significant findings were made in this study; namely, that ash concentration in s oils is an indicator of Hg enrichment, the modes of occurrence of Hg a re identical in so-called Hg-rich and Hg-poor soils, and Hg was found to coexist with S in all cases. In addition to Hg other materials empl oyed at the Oak Ridge site such as U, Th, alloys, and rare earth were also observed.