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Papers by Ben Mack

Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2007

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the most prevalent pollution problems in the Appalachian regio... more Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the most prevalent pollution problems in the Appalachian region of the United States. The acidity concentration of AMD from a particular source is influenced by many different factors. Some researchers have shown that acidity concentrations in abovedrainage underground mines vary over time, with large fluctuations relating to the season of year or flow characteristics. The objectives of this study were to determine the changes in acidity, Fe concentrations, and flow over 38 years from 34 Upper Freeport underground mines in West Virginia. Water analyses were compiled from studies in 1968, 2000, and 2006 to evaluate these changes. The 34 underground mines were separated into three groups based on sampling season. Flow, acidity, and Fe values were averaged for each sampling year within each group. All three groups of mines had decreases in flow since 1968. Group 1 decreased by 69%, Group 2 by 84%, and Group 3 by 47%. All three groups also showed large decreases in acidity concentrations. Group 1 decreased by 80%, Group 2 by 73%, and Group 3 by 83%. Five mines were also selected to determine changes in Fe concentrations over time, which showed an average decrease of 83%. Further sampling of these sites will continue to quantify the effects of time on discharge amount and quality, and will help in determining the length of treatment and costs.

Journal of Environmental Quality, 2010

Acidity of water from abandoned underground mines decreases over time, and the rate of decrease c... more Acidity of water from abandoned underground mines decreases over time, and the rate of decrease can help formulate remediation approaches and treatment system designs. The objective of this study was to determine an overall acidity decay rate for above‐drainage underground mines in northern West Virginia from a large data set of mines that were closed 50 to 70 yr ago. Water quality data were obtained from 30 Upper Freeport and 7 Pittsburgh coal seam mines in 1968, 1980, 2000, and 2006, and acidity decay curves were calculated. The mean decay constant, k, for Upper Freeport mines was 2.73 × 10−2 yr−1, with a 95% confidence interval of ± 0.0052, whereas the k value for Pittsburgh mines was not significantly different at 4.26 × 10−2 yr−1 ± 0.017. Acidity from the T&T mine, which was closed 12 yr ago, showed a k value of 11.25 × 10−2 yr−1 This higher decay rate was likely due to initial flushing of accumulated metal salts on reaction surfaces in the mine, rapid changes in mine hydrology...

Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2012

Several measurements of acidity concentrations from 40 abovedrainage underground mines over 38 ye... more Several measurements of acidity concentrations from 40 abovedrainage underground mines over 38 years were plotted against a range of acidity decay curves. The objective of this study was to determine the average amount of acidity lost over time. Ideal acidity decay curves of 2, 5, and 10% were used for this comparison. The 40 sites were split into two main groups by coal seam (Upper Freeport and Pittsburgh). Acidity values from the 34 Upper Freeport sites were split further into four different groups (by 1968 acidity) and an exponential trend line was drawn through the data to determine how well the groups matched the ideal decay curves. Both the Pittsburgh and Upper Freeport groups most closely matched the 5% decay curve. Acidity values from the T&T #2 mine, which was closed 12 years ago, were also plotted against the same three decay curves. T&T most closely matched the 10% decay curve during its first 12 years after closure. This is likely due to the relatively short time since mine closure of T&T compared to the 50-70 years since mine closure for the 40 sites. In addition, T&T is likely still going through its initial flushing phase, which includes the flushing of accumulated metal salts from the mine.

The objective of this research was to determine the changes in acidity, sulfate, iron, aluminum, ... more The objective of this research was to determine the changes in acidity, sulfate, iron, aluminum, and calcium concentrations over time in above-drainage, underground mines. Water analyses were compiled from four sampling dates for two coal seams. Results for all sites showed declines in all parameters. Acidity decreases from the 40 sites were compared to three acidity decay curves. The data most closely matched the 5 percent decay curve. Acidity values from a different mine most closely matched the 10 percent decay curve during its first 12 years after closure. None of the five parameters showed significant relationships with either decade of mine closure or coal seam. Five sites were more intensively sampled during March, May, and July 2007 to determine how flow and acidity changed over differing time periods. Flows were found to vary significantly between months. However, flow differences were not significant within the same month. Acidity followed a similar trend. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my professors and colleagues that helped me along my research path. My adviser, Jeff Skousen, was an invaluable source of information and support during the research and writing processes. His door was always open whenever I had a question. Louis McDonald and Dorothy Vesper provided very helpful information about the chemistry/geochemistry of AMD, as well as help with data presentation and analysis. I would also like to thank Desta Fekedulegn for his help with the statistical part of the data analysis. His explanations of the statistical analyses performed were easy to understand and made the task of writing the discussion of the data much easier. Ken Stewart of the NRCCE Lab and Joan Wright of the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences aided in the analysis of water samples. Lastly, I would like to thank my family. Their encouragement and love has supported me through the entire process of graduate school. The completion of this degree would not have been possible without them. iv

Mine Water and the Environment, 2014

High flows during spring runoff and snowmelt can increase the concentrations of contaminants in t... more High flows during spring runoff and snowmelt can increase the concentrations of contaminants in the discharge or dilute them. In the Appalachian region, March tends to be a time of high flows from underground mines, May has moderate flow rates, and July has low flows. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of flow rate on water quality from five acid-producing, abovedrainage underground mines in West Virginia. We measured flow rates and acidity twice a week for 3 weeks in March, May, and July 2007. As expected, flow rates in March (average of five sites) were significantly higher at 32 L s-1 than flows in May and July at 18 and 6 L s-1. Flows during weeks within months were not significantly different. Acidity concentrations for March and May (high and moderate flow months) were significantly lower at 342 and 400 mg L-1 (as CaCO 3) than those in July at 524 mg L-1 (as CaCO 3). Similar to flow, acidity concentrations during weeks within the same month were not significantly different. In general, this data supported the 'dilution' concept, where higher flow rates resulted in lower acidity concentrations from above-drainage underground mine discharges.

Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2016

ABSTRACT This research assessed impacts of drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale by monitoring ... more ABSTRACT This research assessed impacts of drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale by monitoring water quality. Both a stream with an active drilling operation and a reference stream were monitored. Differences at the active reach were detected in turbidity, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, Sr, Ca, Cl, Na, Mg, alkalinity, and SO4. Differences were largely attributed to an expanded roadway, and the ranges of most measured parameters were within range of water quality criteria for West Virginia.

Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2011

The Roaring Creek watershed in central West Virginia was known to be impacted by historic coal mi... more The Roaring Creek watershed in central West Virginia was known to be impacted by historic coal mining. However, the current degree of the environmental degradation within the watershed was not known. A partnership between the National Mine Land Reclamation Center (NMLRC), the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection-Division of Water and Waste Management (WVDEP-DWWM), and Trout Unlimited (TU) was formed to assess the impacts of nonpoint-source pollution in the Roaring Creek watershed. Water chemistry, water quantity, and benthic data were gathered four times between 2009 and 2010. The results of this data show that almost all of the mining impacts within the watershed were found in one tributary called Kittle Hollow. Due to these findings, Kittle Hollow was targeted for further sampling. Multiple mine drainage sources were sampled in order to prioritize them for passive treatment. This collected data will be used to develop a watershed-based plan, which will represent the end of the assessment process. Currently, the plan is being written and the remediation projects are in the design phase. Once these projects are completed, they are expected to remove 80% of the metal and acid loads from each mine discharge. The ultimate goal of the watershed assessment process is to improve the quality of the existing trout fishery in Roaring Creek as well as extend the territory in which trout can thrive. It is anticipated that the reclamation of Kittle Hollow will allow the entire Roaring Creek watershed to function as a successful fishery.

Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2009

... Auteur : MACK Ben. Prix indicatif 20,53 Ajouter au panier le livre de MACK Ben. Date de par... more ... Auteur : MACK Ben. Prix indicatif 20,53 Ajouter au panier le livre de MACK Ben. Date de parution : 02-2007 Langue : ANGLAIS 256p. ... If you have a millionaire mind, you've just chosen to buy this book. -T. Harv Eker, author of the New York Times 1 bestseller Secrets of the ...

Journal of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2006

The duration of acid mine drainage (AMD) flowing out of underground mines is important in watersh... more The duration of acid mine drainage (AMD) flowing out of underground mines is important in watershed restoration and abandoned mine land reclamation projects. Past studies report that AMD flows from underground mines for hundreds of years with little change, while others find that poor drainage quality only lasts 20 to 40 years. In northern West Virginia, 20 above-drainage underground mines with AMD discharges were located and sampled during 1968, 1980, 2000, and 2005. Water flow, pH, acidity, Fe, Al, and sulfate were measured at all sampling times. From earlier work, 33 out of 44 sites (77%) were found to improve in drainage quality between 1968 and 2000. The results of the 2005 water sampling period confirmed these earlier findings. Out of 20 sites in the present study, only nine sites gave sufficient flow for water samples to be taken again in 2005. Of these nine discharges sampled in 2005, two showed a 22% and 32% increase of acidity, while the other seven sites (78%) decreased i...