Nonbiological Materials

Boron is distributed widely in the environment. Naturally, elevated boron levels are usually associated with marine sediments, thermal springs, large deposits of boron minerals, seawater, and certain groundwaters. Human activities, however, have resulted in elevated boron concentrations near coal-bred plants, in mine drainage waters, in muiucipal wastes, and 

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Mercury concentrations in selected biological and nonbiological materials collected from Minamata Bay, Japan, and environs... 

Zinc concentrations (milligrams of zinc per kilogram fresh weight [FW] or dry weight DW]) in representative nonbiological materials... 

Concentrations of cyanide in field collections of selected living resources and nonbiological materials... 

Concentrations of PCDDs measured in selected organisms and nonbiological materials collected from various locales... 

Average lead concentrations in nonbiological materials worldwide were much higher in sediments (47,000 pg/kg), soils (16,000), and sediment interstitial waters (36) than in atmospheric and other hydrospheric compartments (Table 4.3). Most of the lead discharged into surface waters is rapidly incorporated into suspended and bottom sediments, and most will ultimately be found in marine sediments (Harrison and Laxen 1981). Sediments now constitute the largest global reservoir of lead sediment interstitial waters and soils constitute secondary reservoirs (Table 4.3). 

Table 4.4 Lead Concentrations in Selected Nonbiological Materials...

Table 5.4 Mercury Concentrations in Selected Biological and Nonbiological Materials Collected From Minamata Bay, Japan and Environs (Concentrations are in mg Hg/kg [ppm] fresh weight [FW], or dry weight [DW].)...

Tin concentrations in water, air, soils, sediments, and other nonbiological materials are documented, but information is scarce except for aquatic systems (Maguire 1991 Table 8.6). In aquatic systems, several trends were evident. First, tin and organotin compounds tend to concentrate in... 

Resources and Nonbiological Materials (Values are in mg total cyanide/kg fresh weight, or mg/L.)... 

Nonbiological Materials Collected from Various Locales (Unless indicated otherwise, all values are in parts per trillion [ppt] 2,3,7,8-TCDD [ng/kg] fresh weight [FW], dry weight [DW], or lipid weight [LW].)... 

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