Assessment of Chromium Waste Contamination by Electrical Resistivity Tomography: A Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to determine the chromium contamination at an abandoned chemical factory by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Five ERT survey lines were conducted in the main production plant and two boreholes were drilled to collect soil samples for soil analysis. The 2D and 3D resistivity model were constructed to evaluate the pollution plumes. The ERT results showed that seven low-resistivity zones are observed in the 2D resistivity profiles, which may indicate the main pollution areas at the site. The 3D electrical resistivity model further showed that the soil pollution is more severe in the southwest than in the other areas of the site. The ERT results were partly verified by chemical analysis of soil samples. These ERT results can be further used for additional designs of soil and groundwater sampling.