Abiotic Materials

Arsenic is a major constituent of at least 245 mineral species, of which arsenopyrite is the most common. In general, background concentrations of arsenic range from 0.2 to 15.0 mg/kg in the lithosphere, 0.005-0.1 xg/m in air, 10.0 ig[L in water, and 15.0 mg/kg in soil. The commercial use and production of arsenic compounds have raised local concentrations in the environment far above the natural background concentrations. 

Weathering of rocks and soils adds about 45,000 tons of arsenic to the oceans annually, accounting for less than 0.01 mg/L on a global basis. However, arsenic inputs to oceans increased during the past century both from natural sources and as a result of industrial use, agricultural and deforestation activities, emissions from coal and oil combustion, and loss during mining of metal ores. If present 

In air, most arsenic particulates consist of inorganic arsenic compounds, often as As . Burning of coal and arsenic-treated wood, and smelting of metals are major sources of atmospheric arsenic contamination (i.e., 1.0pg/m ) in general, atmospheric arsenic levels are higher in winter, due to increased use of coal for heating. 

The main carrier of arsenic in rocks and in most types of mineral deposits is iron pyiite (FeS2) which may contain 2000.0 mg/kg of arsenic. In localized areas, soils are contaminated by arsenic oxide fallout from smelting ores (especially sulfide-containing ores) and combustion of arsenic-rich coal. 

These elevated levels are found mainly in anaerobic sediment regions where the chemical has been relatively undisturbed by activity. Low levels of arsenic in the biota of the Wailoa River estuary suggest that arsenic is trapped in the anaerobic sediment layers. 

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Toxaphene concentrations in field collections of selected living organisms and abiotic materials... 

Radionuclide concentrations in biotic and abiotic materials from various geographic locales before or after the Chernobyl nuclear accident on April 26, 1986... 

Table 2.1 (continued) Chromium Concentrations in Abiotic Materials... 

Copper concentrations in air, soil, water, sediments, and other abiotic materials are elevated as a result of human activities, especially near copper smelters and mines, urban areas, municipal and industrial wastewater outfalls, marinas containing copper-based antifouling paints, and agricultural soils receiving prolonged applications of copper-based fungicides (Table 3.2). Maximum copper... 

Table 3.2 (continued) Copper Concentrations in Selected Abiotic Materials... 

Techniques for analysis of different mercury species in biological samples and abiotic materials include atomic absorption, cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry, gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture detection, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Lansens etal. 1991 Schintu etal. 1992 Porcella etal. 1995). Methylmercury concentrations in marine biological tissues are detected at concentrations as low as 10 pg Hg/kg tissue using graphite furnace sample preparation techniques and atomic absorption spectrometry (Schintu et al. 1992). 

Table 5.5 Mercury Concentrations in Selected Abiotic Materials Material (units) Concentration Reference8... 

Hazard evaluation posed by organotin compounds to natural resources is predicated partly on their chemical composition, partly on their concentration and persistence in abiotic materials and diet items, and partly on their availability to organisms. In each of these areas, key data are missing for promulgation of effective regulations. It seems that additional research is needed in eight areas to acquire these data ... 

Determination of the persistence and mobility of organotin compounds — especially in aquatic abiotic materials, such as sediments, sediment interstitial waters, suspended particulates, and the water column — and on the partitioning of these compounds between the surface microlayer and subsurface waters (Wilkinson 1984 Thompson et al. 1985). 

Table 27.1 Toxaphene Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Living Organisms and Abiotic Materials (Concentrations are in mg toxaphene per kg fresh weight [FW], dry weight [DW], or lipid weight [LW], except where noted.)...

Table 32.18 Radionuclide Concentrations in Biotic and Abiotic Materials from Various Geographic...

Table 32.18 (continued) Radionuclide Concentrations in Biotic and Abiotic Materials from Various Geographic Locales Before or After the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident on April 26, 1986 (All concentrations are in Bq/kg fresh weight [FW],or dry weight [DW], unless noted otherwise.] ... 

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