Newswise — MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State University students are helping protect the environment and reduce public health risks.
Students across academic disciplines will monitor a two-acre site in Sylvan Grove in north central Kansas after former students cleaned
Newswise — MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State University students are helping protect the environment and reduce public health risks.
Students across academic disciplines will monitor a two-acre site in Sylvan Grove in north central Kansas after former students cleaned nitrate contamination from soil and groundwater. They characterized the extent of contamination and developed remediation plans.
Students in agronomy, biology, engineering, geography and geology joined forces as part of course projects in Water Resource Geochemistry, or GEOL 711; Introduction to Geochemistry, or GEOL 605; and Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Capstone, or DAS/DEN/GENAG 582.
"We found high levels of nitrate, which is commonly used in fertilizer," said Nathan Nelson, associate professor of agronomy. "Nitrate supplies an essential nutrient -- nitrogen -- to plants and is important for food production, but too much nitrate in water can have an adverse effect on humans, animals and the environment."
High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder in infants younger than six months. Commonly called blue baby syndrome, the disorder limits how much oxygen infants pass through their blood. Rain can leach nitrates from soil to groundwater.
It's unclear how the Sylvan Grove site became contaminated. The site, which houses a grain elevator today, once stored dry and liquid fertilizer. Manure from local feed yards also produces nitrate, which can contaminate the groundwater.
Students worked with environmental lawyer Chris Steincamp, a Kansas State University geology alumnus; landowners; and officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to characterize contamination on the site, identify potential sources of contamin