Assessment of Environmental (Dust, Soil, and Groundwater) Impact and Remediation of Lead Smelters for Sustainable Development: A Modeling Approach

Abstract

Lead (Pb) poses a significant risk to human health and the environment. Global Pb production and consumption have markedly risen due to unregulated development and urbanization, Pb smelting, and Pb-acid battery processing. This study addresses the issue of elevated heavy metal concentrations in dust, soil, and groundwater in Shubra Al Khaymah due to the Awadallah Pb smelter. Pb concentration in soil and groundwater escalates in proximity to the Awadallah smelter and diminishes with distance from it—the surface soil functions as a repository for heavy metals. The concentrations of Pb (50–1500 µg/L), manganese (Mn) (1–750 µg/L), iron (Fe) (200–1250 µg/L), and boron (B) (250–1750 µg/L) in the groundwater stratum exceeded drinking and irrigation standards. A solution to the groundwater system issue is proposed by employing pumping wells adjacent to the riverbed to recover the contaminated water from the hydrogeological environment. Processing Modflow Path (PMPATH) program may delineate groundwater protection zones according to the travel time of 150 days (Zones 1 and 2) and the whole watershed source (Zone 3). An injection well was constructed to replenish excellent water quality in the groundwater aquifer in the upstream region. A 3D model of dissolved matter transport was created to examine the concentration distribution across remediation time in the contaminated region. This model demonstrates that, after 365 days of injection, the C/Co concentration ratio exceeded 70% in the downstream area, rendering it appropriate for drinking and irrigation. The alternate strategy is to encapsulate the severely contaminated zone. All measures aim to decrease the piezometric pressure in the vicinity, directing groundwater flow towards the contaminated zone, as accomplished by Processing Modflow Windows (PMWIN).