Discharges to water bodies

It is very important to consider the pathways of radionuclides in the environment for design of the environmental monitoring program. Radionuclides enter the receiving environment via direct emissions to atmosphere, direct discharges to water bodies or releases from land burials of radioactive wastes. 

The major sources of PCDD and PCDF in the Great Lakes basin are low temperature municipal waste and sewage sludge incinerators, and leachate from past disposal practices, some of which were designed to contain wastes (6). All of these current source types are the result of engineering treatment designed to reduce the concentration of these compounds in discharges to water bodies. 

In Estonia the monitoring of effluents is based on chemical analysis. The list of controlled water quahty parameters depends on the type of industry. Bioassays are not used as a monitoring tool. However, according to HELCOM Recommendations No. 16/5, Requirement for discharging of waste water from the chemical industry, and No. 16/10, Reduction of discharges and emission from production of textiles, the toxicity effect of discharges into water bodies should be determined by (at least) two toxicity tests, which could be chosen out of the following four toxicity tests [203] ... 

However, no published literature is available for heavy metal contents contributed by Jua Kali enterprises to the environment. The results of this study will help the National Environmental and Management Authority (NEMA) to set control measures to reduce pollution due to heavy metals released from such sites to water bodies. The mushrooming of Jua Kali metallurgical enterprises in major towns in Kenya is of a major concern as they do not observe or adhere to any strict control in their discharges through effluents, emissions (atmospheric) and solid waste disposal with respect to these metals.The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence that Jua Kali enterprises are a point source of heavy metals to the environment and therefore to recommend that mitigation measures should be put in place to control such pollution. 

Liquid wastes which are below exempt level and the effluents generated during treatment of short lived, low intermediate level liquid waste, containing radionuclides below safe levels are normally discharged into water bodies. TTie safe levels are site specific and are to be in conformity with international recommendations [13] [14]. The release of radioactivity is kept to the minimum... 

Enter the applicable letter code for the receiving stream or water body from Section 3.10 of Part I of the form. Also, enter the total annual amount of the chemical released from all discharge points at the facility to each receiving stream or water body. Include process outfalls such as pipes and open trenches, releases from on-site wastewater treatment systems, and the contribution from stormwater runoff, if applicable (see instructions for column C below). Do not include discharges to a POTW or other off-site wastewater treatment facilities in this section. These off-sife transfers must be reported in Pari III, Section 6 of the form. 

This column relates only to Section 5.3 -- Discharges to receiving streams or water bodies. If your facility has monitoring data on the amount of the chemical in stormwater runoff (Including unchanneled runoff), you must include that quantity of the chemical in your water release in column A and indicate the percentage of the total quantity (by weight) of the chemical contributed by stormwater in column C (Section 5.3c). 

You must report in this section the total annual quantity of the chemical sent to any of the off-site disposal, treatment, or storage facilities for which you have provided an address In Part II. You are not required to report quantities of the chemical sent off-site for purposes of recycle or reuse. Report the amou nt of the toxic chemical transferred off-site after any on-site treatment or removal is completed. Report zero for releases of listed acids and bases if they have been neutralized to pH 6-9 prior to discharge to a POTW. See the discussion under Section 5.3, Discharges to Receiving Streams or Water Bodies (see page 21). 

The toxicity of chlorine residuals to aquatic life has been well documented. Studies indicate that at chlorine concentrations in excess of 0.01 mg/1, serious hazard to marine and estuarine life exists. This has led to the dechlorination of wastewaters before they are discharged into surface water bodies. In addition to being toxic to aquatic life, residuals of chlorine can produce halogenated organic compounds that are potentially toxic to man. Trihalomelhanes (chloroform and bromoform), which are carcinogens, are produced by chlorination. 

To meet the specified standard,4 wastewaters are often subjected to a series of treatment processes before they are discharged into the environment, particularly, water bodies. The treatment processes include physical, chemical, and biological processes that may be applied singly or collectively. The collective application of the processes can be employed in a variety of systems classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary wastewater treatment, to achieve different levels of contaminants removal.2... 

---