Organic petrographic evaluation of carbonaceous material in sediments of the Kinnickinnic River, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.

This study describes the application of organic petrology techniques to quantify the amount of coal and carbonaceous combustion by-products (i.e., coke, coal tar/pitch, cenospheres) in sediments taken from the Kinnickinnic River adjacent to the former site of the Milwaukee Solvay Coke and Gas Company. The site produced metallurgical coke and coal-gasification by-products from 1902-1983 and was assessed in 2001 as a potential Superfund site in part due to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which readily absorb to coal and combustion by-products.