The effect of Yatagan thermal power plant (Mugla, Turkey) on the quality of surface and groundwaters

Yatagan thermal power plant consumes annually 5.4 million tons of coal and the annual production capacity of the plant is 3.78 billion KWh. The thermal power plant uses 15000 tons of coal and discharges 5000 tons of fly and bottom ash daily to the disposal site. The waste is dumped using conveyer belts and pipes into a dam founded on metamorphic rocks. However, as the waste hills formed, the water level reached the karstic marbles that over lay schist. Water leaches through dried waste hills and karstic marbles, ultimately adversely affecting the quality of ground and surface waters. The concentrations of major and minor ions were determined on water samples taken at 2 points in the dam, 5 points in surface water and at 21 points in groundwater located in the vicinity of the waste disposal site, total of 28 samples, for three years. The chemical analyses revealed that the concentrations of Ca2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Sb2+ and SO42- in some samples exceed the Turkish Drinking Water, the U.S. EPA and WHO limits. Isotope analyses were carried out to determine the origins of waters, which showed that contamination is taking place in the vicinity of the waste disposal site.