Waste direct partitioning

On the basis of the above-mentioned assumptions, atmospheric concentrations, used as inflows to the model, in the range of 9.37 x 10 9 to 2 x 10 6 mg m 3 (data not shown) did not have a significant influence on the partitioning of DeBDE. A strong impact could be assigned to the direct discharge and to chemical concentration in inflow waters. There is, however, no information available on concentration of DeBDE in emitted waters. Consequently, different direct discharges from the e-waste sites were used as emission data and the subsequent concentrations for sediment and water concentrations in the river were calculated (Fig. 3). 

Fig. 3 Relationship between direct discharges of DeBDE to water in kg/year from a hypothetical e-waste side and the partitioning of the substance between sediment and water phase...

Anthropogenic inputs to intertidal environments are often direct, through point-source waste disposal, but they are also indirect, from riverine, marine and/or atmospheric sources. Trace metals are partitioned between each component of the intertidal sediment-water system they are found in solution ( bulk water or interstitial water) and associated with suspended and deposited sediments. This chapter is concerned with the biogeochemistry of trace metals in deposited intertidal sediments. Two main sections follow in the first, an overview of surface sediments and sediment depth profiles is presented, and in the second, a case study is given of the historic record of Zn from saltmarsh sediments in the Severn Estuary, UK. 

---