Contaminated Rivers

In order to illustrate the major geochemical factors controlling the impact of mining activities on the environment, it is necessary to investigate the chemical form of the contaminant, e.g. their chemical speciation in both river water and sediment. The speciation can help to assess the bioavailability of metals to organisms and the hazard they may present to the environment. 

The results of a detailed investigation of the Carnon River system (south-west England) have shown high concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, As and Cl in the river water (Johnson and Thornton 1987), with the Cl subjected to strong seasonal variations. Over 80% of Fe, Zn and As, and about 40% of Cu is derived from acid mine drainage. The binding of Cu and Zn depends on the pH and Fe concentration, whereas, only little pH dependence is observed for As. About 80% of arsenic was found in the particulate phase. 

River water from the mining areas contain a high amount of iron which is transported largely in a particulate form. This material is providing an active surface for adsorption or/and coprecipitation processes, which are responsible for the final distribution of heavy metals between the dissolved and particulate form. 

Recent investigations (Macklin and Klimek 1992) show very high concentration of Zn, Pb and Cd in the overbank alluvial sediments of the Upper Vistula (Metkow) and Przemsza (Gorzow) Rivers. Cadmium concentrations are particularly elevated and approach some of the highest levels (up to 150 ppm) recorded in river sediments in Europe. 

the content of heavy metals in bottom sediments of these two rivers is very high. In the Przemsza River it can reach 11 664 ppm Zn, 868 ppm Pb and 495 ppm Cd, and in Vistula River 3000 ppm Zn, 450 ppm Pb and 100 ppm Cd. 

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Electrochemical corrosion protection of the internal surfaces of reaction vessels, tanks, pipes and conveyor equipment in the chemical, power and petroleum industries is usually carried out in the presence of strongly corrosive media. The range stretches from drinking water through more or less contaminated river, brackish and seawater frequently used for cooling, to reactive solutions such as caustic soda, acids and salt solutions. 

Waldron MC, Cohnan JA, and BreaultRF. 2000. Distribution, hydrologic transport, and cycling of total mercury and methyl mercury in a contaminated river-reservoir-wetland system (Sudbury River, eastern Massachusetts), Can J Fish Aquat Sci 57 1080-1091. 

Contaminated rivers contain much higher levels of inorganic germanium, e.g. from steel or coal industries locally. In such rivers, methylgermanium concentrations up to 100... 

Mayfly, Baetis thermicus whole larvae Japan metal-contaminated river (28.6 pg Cu/L) vs. reference site 73.5 FW vs. 4.0 FW Cu localized in midgut epithelial cells 46... 

Insects immature benthic species whole from copper-contaminated river up to 60 km downstream from outfall (779 mg Cu/kg DW sediments) vs. reference site (18 mg Cu/kg DW sediments)... 

Diet is the most important route of copper accumulation in aquatic animals, and food choice influences body loadings of copper. For example, whole-body copper concentrations in aquatic insects from copper-contaminated rivers are highest in detritovores (as high as 102 mg/kg DW), followed by predators (54 mg/kg DW) and omnivores (43 mg/kg DW Cain et al. 1992). Little or no biomagnification of copper is evident in freshwater food chains (Stokes 1979). 

Enlarged hvers in brown bullheads from a PAH-contaminated river (Fabacher and Baumann 1985). 

Fabacher, D.L. and P.C. Baumann. 1985. Enlarged livers and hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidase components in tumor-bearing brown bullheads from a chemically contaminated river. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 4 703-710. 

In Colorado in 1958 from contaminated river waters used in irrigation... 

Fig. 2. Rare earth element plots of contaminated rivers. Samples marked with triangles are from Bau et al. (2006). The sample marked with open squares is from Bau Dulski (1996). Samples marked with circles are from this study.

PCDD, PCDF contaminated rivers HRGC HRMS n.r. n.r. ... 

In areas where mirex was historically used for fire ant control, it has been detected in fish and other aquatic biota from contaminated rivers. An analysis of mirex residues in primary, secondary, and... 

Event 8 Chemical Spill—Oil. Ashland Oil Company, Inc., Floreffe, Pennsylvania (January 1988). The oil spill temporarily contaminated drinking water sources for an estimated 1 million people in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio contaminated river ecosystems killed wildlife damaged private property and adversely affected businesses in the area. More than 511,000 gallons of diesel fuel remain unrecovered and are presumed to be in the rivers (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2008). 

Flows of contaminated river water Flows of contaminated groundwater Sheet flow of polluted stormwater runoff Deposition of aeolian particles and gas dissolution... 

Kristiansson E, Pick J, Janzon A et al (2011) Pyrosequencing of antibiotic-contaminated river sediments reveals high levels of resistance and gene transfer elements. PLoS One 6(2) el7038... 

Now the New York State Department of Environmental Conservahon and some environmental groups have advocated dredging the PCB-contaminated river bottom and transferring the PCB-containing sediment to a landhU site. Even though the cleanup costs, now estimated to run as high as 300 nuUion U.S. dollars, are acceptable to U.S. tax payers, a landfill site to receive the PCB-contaminated sediment shU cannot be found because of pubhc resistance [50]. 

Quality Assurance/Quality Control. QA/QC measures included field blanks, solvent blanks, method blanks, matrix spikes, and surrogates. Percent recovery was determined using three surrogate compounds (nitrobenzene-d5, 2-fluorobiphenyl, d-terphenyl-diQ and matrix spikes (naphthalene, pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene) the recoveries ranged from 80 to 102%. Separate calibration models were built for each of the 16 PAHs using internal standards (naphthalene-dg, phenanthrene-dio, perylene-di2). Validation was performed using a contaminated river sediment (SRM 1944) obtained from NIST (Gaithersburg, MD) accuracy was <20% for each of the 16 analytes. 

Aquatic moss, Fontinalis squamosa Contaminated river, Waies, 1985 Uncontaminated site Marine piants Phytopiankton Seaweeds... 

Pyridine (and its derivatives) are water-soluble and do not readily bind to organic constituents of soil and aquifer materials. They may, therefore, be transported through aquifer materials, sediments and soils and thus contaminate rivers and estuaries (Liu Kuo, 1997). 

By coupling flow field-flow fractionation (flow FFF) to ICP-MS it is possible to investigate trace metals bound to various size fractions of colloidal and particulate materials.55 This technique is employed for environmental applications,55-57 for example to study trace metals associated with sediments. FFF-ICP-MS is an ideal technique for obtaining information on particle size distribution and depth profiles in sediment cores in addition to the metal concentrations (e.g., of Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sr, Ti and Zn with core depths ranging from 0-40 cm).55 Contaminated river sediments at various depths have been investigated by a combination of selective extraction and FFF-ICP-MS as described by Siripinyanond et al,55... 

Moore, J. N. (1994). Contaminant mobilization resulting from redox pumping in a metal-contaminated river-reservoir system. In Environmental Chemistry of Lakes and Reservoirs, ed. L. A. Baker, pp. 451-71. Washington, D.C. American Chemical Society. Moore, J. N., Ficklin, W. H. Johns, C. (1988). Partitioning of arsenic and metals in reducing sulfidic sediments. Environmental Science and Technology, 22, 432-7. Morrison, G. M., Batley, G. E. Florence, T. M. (1989). Metal speciation and toxicity. Chemistry in Britain, 8, 791-5. 

Contaminant Mobilization Resulting from Redox Pumping in a Metal-Contaminated River-Reservoir System... 

Any relationships between salinity and arsenic chemistry in estuary waters often vary with location and climate. In some areas, periodic upwelling of high-arsenic and saline bottom waters locally dominates the arsenic chemistry of estuaries (e.g. the Taiwan Strait (Xiankun, Jing and Xinian, 1994), 332). In other situations, wet season flooding of highly arsenic-contaminated river waters increases the arsenic contents and lowers the salinity of estuaries. In contrast, fairly pristine river waters may dilute both estuary salinity and arsenic concentrations during flooding. 

Klarup, D.G. (1997) The influence of oxalic acid on release rates of metals from contaminated river sediment. Science of the Total Environment, 204(3), 223-31. 

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