The Impact of a Lignite Seam on Contaminated Groundwater in the Aquifer System of the Bitterfeld Region

Until 1990 the Bitterfeld region was heavily polluted by mining,an obsolete chemical industry and the uncontrolled deposition ofchemical wastes. The groundwater is extensivly contaminated inthe area of a disused chemical factory which once produced andapplied halogenated compounds on a large scale. At the researcharea in Bitterfeld, highly mobile chlorinated aliphatics andaromatics have been detected in both groundwater and sediments,especially in a lignite seam. The modern analytical method ofsolid-phase micro extraction (SPME) was successfully used toanalyse the pollution level of groundwater and sediments. Thelignite seam was found to have accumulated large quantities ofhalogenated hydrocarbons functioning as a giant adsorptionfilter, and hence recording past groundwater contamination.The vertical and lateral pollution profiles of sediments and thedistribution coefficients between lignite and groundwater atequilibrium conditions were determined for the key components.The consequences of the present situation for the progressivegroundwater quality of the quaternary aquifer are assessed in aforthcoming article.