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Sources of contamination that can cause groundwater contamination
Point sources
- On-site septic systems
- Leaky tanks or pipelines containing petroleum products
- Leaks or spills of industrial chemicals at manufacturing facilities
- Underground injection wells (industrial waste)
- Municipal landfills
- Livestock wastes
- Leaky sewer lines
- Chemicals used at wood preservation facilities
- Mill tailings in mining areas
- Fly ash from coal-fired power plants
- Sludge disposal areas at petroleum refineries
- Land spreading of sewage or sewage sludge
- Graveyards
- Road salt storage areas
- Wells for disposal of liquid wastes
- Runoff of salt and other chemicals from roads and highways
- Spills related to highway or railway accidents
- Coal tar at old coal gasification sites
- Asphalt production and equipment cleaning sites
Non-point (distributed) sources
- Fertilizers on agricultural land
- Pesticides on agricultural land and forests
- Contaminants in rain, snow, and dry atmospheric fallout
Source: Adapted from: Cherry, John A. "Groundwater Occurrence and Contamination in Canada." In M.C. Healey and R.R. Wallace, Canadian Aquatic Resources, eds., Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 215: 395. Department of Fisheries and Oceans: Ottawa, 1987.
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