Identification of Environmental Damage Process of a Chromium-Contaminated Site in China

Identifying the source and impact pathways of soil heavy-metal pollution is critical for its assessment and remediation. Numerical simulation has been widely used to simulate soil heavy-metal pollution processes and predict risks. However, traditional numerical simulation software requires a large number of parameters, which are difficult to obtain in site-scale studies. This study proposes a rapid method for identifying soil heavy-metal pollution processes using the TOUGH2/EOS7 software. It has automatic calibration and uncertainty analysis capabilities, which can effectively reduce the demand for parameters. This study established a method, including model selection, simulation, validation, and error analysis, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. This study identified the most realistic scenario for chromium pollution and simulated its release over 20 years, and the results met accuracy requirements with a best-case fit of 0.9998. The results showed that the method can quickly identify the source and impact pathways of soil heavy-metal pollution, providing strong evidence for environmental damage assessment.