Ancient underground fractures may threaten ground wate...( COLUMBUS Ohio -...)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a series of new studies, scientists have uncovered evidence suggesting that the soil in much of Ohio may not be good material in which to bury solid and industrial wastes.

The reason is that fractures deep underground help contaminated water flow downward and reach water supplies too quickly for it to be purified. In such cases, underground water supplies can become contaminated.

In one recent study, scientists surveyed Ohio soil profiles and found that at least 55 of Ohio's 88 counties have underground fractures that could affect the purity of ground water.

"We once thought that the soils in much of Ohio were so fine-grained and tightly compacted that almost no wastes could seep through," said Ann Christy, an assistant professor of food, agricultural and biological engineering at Ohio State University. "However, now we're finding that is not true."

Much of Ohio was seen as a safe place for landfills because of the presence of glacial tills - the soil, rocks and other material left behind by glaciers that covered much of the state during the last ice age, Christy said. While scientists once thought these glacial tills were nearly impermeable to wastes, the discovery of fractures in these tills is giving researchers second thoughts. Scientists have begun a collective effort to locate and describe underground f
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Contact: Julie Weatherington-Rice
Weathringtn-Rice.1@osu.edu
614-292-3171
Ohio State University
2-Jan-2001