title: Distribution and fate of metals in the dispersion plume of a major municipal effluent.
abstract: The environmental impacts of municipal wastewater discharges on receiving waters are numerous and inputs of contaminants such as metals can cause toxicity to organisms in receiving waters. The effluents generated by the treatment plant of the city of Montreal, Canada, the largest such facility in the St. Lawrence Valley, was investigated to determine the environmental fate of trace metals in the receiving waters. Total and extractable metal concentrations were determined and physico-chemical parameters were measured to characterize the receiving waters and evaluate their influence on the fate and behaviour of metals released from the urban effluent. Our results showed that particulate metals near the effluent discharge point are highly reactive and their distribution seems to be significantly influenced by the abundance of HCl-reactive iron and manganese, which act as trace-metal carriers. The partitioning of metals between dissolved and particulate phases varies along the effluent dispersion plume and therefore could strongly influence the exposure routes for aquatic organisms that are exposed to the various contaminants released from the effluent.
authors.affiliation: St. Lawrence Centre, Environment Canada, 105 McGill St., 7th Floor, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 2E7. christian.gagnon@ec.gc.ca
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gagnon
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saulnier
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D008670:Metals; D014131:Trace Elements