Heavy metal accumulation in hot water tanks in a region experiencing coal waste pollution and comparison between regional water systems.
In 2000, a coal slurry impoundment failure in Martin County, Kentucky, caused concerns about contaminants entering municipal water supplies. Water samples taken from impacted and reference area hot water tanks often exceeded US EPA drinking water guidelines. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Pb had maxima of 119; 51.9; 154; 170,000; 976,000; 8,710; and 12,700 microg/L, respectively. Significantly different metal accumulation between counties indicated this procedure's utility for assessing long-term municipal water quality. Correlations between metal concentrations were strong and consistent for As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, and Fe indicating that some metals accumulate proportionally with others.
Wigginton
Andrew
A
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 101 T.H. Morgan Building, Lexington, KY 40506, USA. ajwigg0@uky.edu
McSpirit
Stephanie
S
Sims
C Dewayne
CD
D002947:Cities; D003031:Coal; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005843:Geography; D006361:Heating; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007629:Kentucky; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D011786:Quality Control; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards
D003031:Coal; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical