Inorganic Contaminants of Surface Water: Research and Monitoring Priorities

343 Pages·1991·9.637 MB·English

by  Jame W. Moore (auth.)

Springer Series on Environmental
Management
Robert S. DeSanto, Series Editor
Springer Series on
Environmental Management
Robert S. DeSanto, Series Editor
Disaster Planning: The Hudson River Ecosystem
The Preservation of Life and Property Karin E. Limburg
Harold D. Foster Mary Ann Moron
1980/275 pp./48 illus./cloth William H McDowell
ISBN 0-387-90498-0 1986/344 pp./44 illus./cloth
ISBN 0-387-96220-4
Air Pollution and Forests:
Interactions between Air Human System Responses to
Contaminants Disaster:
and Forest Ecosystems An Inventory of Sociological Findings
William H Smith Thomas E. Drabek
1981/379 pp.f60 illus./cloth 1986/512 pp./cloth
ISBN 0-387-90501-4 ISBN 0-387-96323-5
The Changing Environment
Natural Hazard Risk Assessment
and Public Policy: James W. Moore
Anticipating the Unexpected 1986/256 pp./40 illus./cloth
ISBN 0-387-96314-6
William J. Petak
Anhur A. Atkisson
Balancing the Needs
1982/489 pp./89 illus./cloth
of Water Use
ISBN 0-387-90645-2
James W. Moore
1988/280 pp./39 illus./cloth
Environmental EtTects
ISBN 0-387-96709-5
of Ott-Road Vehicles:
Impacts and Management
The Professional Practice of
in Arid Regions
Environmental Management
R.H Webb
Roben S. Dorney
H G. Wilshire (Editors)
Lindsay Dorney (Editors)
1983/560 pp./149 illus./cloth
1989/248 pp./23 illus./cloth
ISBN 0-387-90737-8
ISBN 0-387-96907-1
Global Fisheries:
Landscape Ecology:
Perspectives for the '8Os
Theory and Applications
B. J. Rothschild (Editor)
(Student edition)
1983/approx. 224 pp./ll illus./cloth
Zev Naveh
ISBN 0-387-90772-6
Anhur S. Liebennan
1990/384 pp./78 illus./pbk
Heavy Metals in Natural Waters: ISBN 0-387-97169-6
Applied Monitoring and Impact
Assessment Long-Term Consequences of
w:
James Moore Disasters:
S. Ramamoonhy The Reconstruction of Friuli, Italy, in
1984/256 pp./48 illus./cloth Its International Context, 1976-1988
ISBN 0-387-90885-4 Roben Geipel
1991/208 pp./81 illus./cloth
Organic Chemicals in Natural ISBN 0-387-97419-9
Waters:
Applied Monitoring and Impact Inorganic Contaminants of
Assessment Surface Water:
w:
James Moore Research and Monitoring Priorities
S. Ramamoonhy James W. Moore
1984/282 pp./81 illus./cloth 1991/360 pp./13 ilIus./cloth
ISBN 0-387-96034-1 ISBN 0-387-97281-1
James W. Moore
Inorganic Contaminants of
Surface Water
Research and Monitoring Priorities
With 13 Illustrations
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg London
Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona
James W. Moore
Box 42
Vegreville, Alberta
TOB 4LO Canada
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moore, James W., 1947-
Inorganic contaminants of surface water: research and monitoring
priorities / James W. Moore.
p. cm. - (Springer series on environmental management)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-7755-2 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-3004-5
DOl: 10.\007/978-1-4612-3004-5
1. Inorganic compounds - Environmental aspects. 2. Radioactive
pollution of water. I. Title II. II. Series.
TD427.I55M66 1990
628.1 '68 - dc20 90-9794
Printed on acid-free paper
© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Softcoverreprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1991
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the
written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly
analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic
adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereaf
ter developed is forbidden.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if
the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as
understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by
anyone.
'TYpeset by David E. Seham Associates, Metuchen, New Jersey.
9 8 7 6 5 432 1
Series Preface
This series is dedicated to serving the growing community of scholars and
practitioners concerned with the principles and applications of environ
mental management. Each volume is a thorough treatment of a specific
topic of importance for proper management practices. A fundamental ob
jective of these books is to help the reader discern and implement man's
stewardship of our environment and the world's renewable resources. For
we must strive to understand the relationship between man and nature,
act to bring harmony to it, and nurture an environment that is both stable
and productive.
These objectives have often eluded us because the pursuit of other in
dividual and societal goals has diverted us from a course of living in balance
with the environment. At times, therefore, the environmental manager
may have to exert restrictive control, which is usually best applied to
man, not nature. Attempts to alter or harness nature have often failed or
backfired, as exemplified by the results of imprudent use of herbicides,
fertilizers, water, and other agents.
Each book in this series will shed light on the fundamental and applied
aspects of environmental management. It is hoped that each will help solve
a practical and serious environmental problem.
Robert S. DeSanto
East Lyme, Connecticut
Preface
Environmental cycles can be split into two broad categories: those induced
by natural processes and those induced by Humankind. Until recently,
nature-induced environmental cycles overwhelmingly dominated anything
created or caused by humans. However, in a time when the world's popula
tion expands at an unparalleled rate, the corresponding burdens placed on
the environment and on the process of environmental protection have inten
sified as well. Today, the impact of Humankind on the environment has
overcome certain natural cycles and now demands complex and far-reaching
responses.
Over the last twenty years, improvements in environmental protection and
modifications in policy have yielded cleaner water, fresher air, an abundance
of fish and wildlife, and a higher quality of life in many western nations.
Jobs have blossomed as a result of these trends, and entire industries, such
as hazardous waste management, have grown dramatically since 1970. Yet
for every force in the direction of positive environmental change, a comple
mentary force has labored to oppose it.
As the environment undergoes progressively greater strains, the process of
environmental protection must be designed to meet the challenge. Trends in
the positive direction should include the diversion of more money to the
protection of water and air, the management of hazardous wastes, and the
control of nonpoint sources of pollution. But instead we seem to migrate in
the opposite direction, toward an era of heightened indifference and les
sened control. Conditions in many countries may very well deteriorate in the
1990's as populations grow and money for the environment is compromised.
viii Preface
Only a determined effort by all those concerned about the world they live
in, from laymen, educators, and scientists to policy makers and heads of
state, will rescue the cycle and reverse the decline in environmental protec
tion. As an important step toward a reversal of these trends, the effective
management of inorganic contaminants of surface water has long been the
goal of professionals in public health and the environment. Although the
greatest progress has been made in controlling some of the sources of these
contaminants, the sheer weight of population and economic growth during
the 1990's will likely offset many of these gains. The purpose of this book
therefore is to provide an information base for the management of inorganic
contaminants in an era of reduced environmental commitment. The reader
will initially find a prognosis of environmental change during the 1990's,
followed by a technical review of current data on inorganic agents, and
concluded by recommendations for research and monitoring.
I would like to thank all those who helped with the preparation of this
book and, in particular, Greg, Jill, and Inge.
Contents
Series Preface v 12. Cyanides 130
Preface vii 13. Iron 140
1. Introduction 1 14. Lead 155
2. Aluminum 5 15. Manganese 178
3. Arsenic 20 16. Mercury 193
4. Asbestos 34 17. Nickel 212
5. Barium 43 18. Nitrogen 229
6. Beryllium 50 19. Selenium 241
7. Boron 57 20. Silver 256
8. Cadmium 64 21. Sulfur 266
9. Chromium 82 22. Thallium 278
10. Cobalt 98 23. Tin 284
11. Copper 109 24. Vanadium 300
x Contents
25. Zinc 309 Index 327
26. Summary and Conclusions 322
1
Introduction
The process of environmental protection will come under staggering pres
sure during the 1990s and for the foreseeable future. It took all of human
history to develop an economy of $600 billion by the year 1900. Eighty
five years later, the world economy was expanding by more than that
amount every 2 years. In the year 2050, the global economy is expected
to reach $13 trillion, more than five times what it is today (Speth, 1988).
Resource use will expand enormously, as will the production of waste,
the formation of chemical by-products, and the deposition of contami
nants into surface waters.
The other staggering inevitability for environmental protection is
growth in the world's population: from 3 billion in 1960 to 5.1 billion in
1989 to 10 billion in 2050 (World Resources Institute, 1988; Speth, 1988).
All of these people will produce, either directly or indirectly, more waste
in an attempt to maintain or increase their standard of living. This will in
turn force much of the Western world to use water that does not comply
with current quality guidelines, simply because better water will not be
available. The same will apply to direct users of surface water, such as
fish and aquaculturalists.
Despite the oncoming crush, most Western nations have progressively
reduced their expenditures in environmental protection. In the United
States, for example, the total amount of money dedicated to research and
development by the Environmental Protection Agency has declined from
a maximum of $219 million in 1975 to only $90 million in 1985. The most
recent budgets have featured a small increase in funding, roughly equiva
lent to the change in GNP (Livernash, 1988). In Canada, total expend i-