APPLICATION OF BORON ISOTOPES FOR IDENTIFYING CONTAMINANTS SUCH AS FLY-ASH LEACHATE IN GROUNDWATER

The B isotopic ratio of a fly ash leachate can be very different from the B isotopic ratio of a natural ground-water. Mixtures of leachate and groundwater typically result in nonlinear B isotope mixing curves that enable identification and quantification of leachate contamination in a groundwater at much lower levels than possible using concentration analyses alone. Limits on B isotope use for contaminant quantification will exist for some environments such as landfills with multiple ash types, but B isotopic analysis may often remain the preferred method for qualitative identification.