Abstract
Power companies and coal-fired plants across the US have dumped coal ash into landfills and ponds without regard to the toxic contaminants that leak into groundwater for much of the last century. Given the harmful effects of these contaminants on human health, the goal of this research was to investigate and address the prominence of coal ash in groundwater among upgradient wells across the Midwest. In light of our findings and their relevance to environmental health research, higher emphasis was placed on analyzing and addressing the presence of arsenic, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, radium 226+228, selenium, and thallium in designated areas, as well as two distinct wells whose alarmingly high levels of contamination set them apart from the rest. On a broader level, this work demonstrates how a combined use of dimension reduction and unsupervised learning techniques provide a promising framework for identifying groundwater contamination as a result of coal ash. In what follows, we outline the methods used throughout this investigation and discuss the most relevant results as a way to bring attention to this pressing issue, inspire further research, and raise public awareness.
Pipelines into Biostatistics Symposium