X-ray diffraction trace analysis of solid phase samples collected from groundwater wells at a confined disposal facility in East Chicago, Indiana

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted a study from June 2014 through November 2014 to identify the hydrologic, chemical and microbiologic processes affecting declining pump performance and frequent pump failure at a confined disposal facility (CDF) in East Chicago, Indiana. A decline in groundwater pump performance through time is not uncommon and is generally attributed to biofouling. To better understand the causes behind declining pump performance, data were collected to describe the geochemistry and microbiology of groundwater and solids collected from extraction and monitoring wells at the CDF. Solid phase samples were collected from monitoring and extraction wells at a confined disposal facility (CDF) in East Chicago, Indiana from September to November 2014. Qualitative and quantitative x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were done on eight samples of pump scrapings collected from five extraction wells (EW-4C, EW-4D, EW-11D, EW-20D) and one monitoring well (MW-4B). The data set includes one table of XRD data analyzed at the USGS Rock Kinetics Laboratory in Menlo Park, California.