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In 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulations that would set limits of 1.5 mg/kg mercury and 2.5 mg/kg cadmium for drilling-waste discharges. To determine potential sources of cadmium and mercury in drilling-waste discharges, samples of barite (barium sulfite), formation cores, and commercially available pipe-dope samples were analyzed for total and extractable levels of cadmium and mercury. From this analysis, most of the cadmium and mercury in drilling-fluid discharges are not available to the environment. The contribution of heavy metals from drilled formation solids is not known before drilling. Endof-pipe discharge limits on metals may compel drilling operators to assume that their wastes could fail the discharge limitation and thus ship all drilling wastes to shore.

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