Isotopic tracers of lead contamination in the Great Lakes

Lead biogeochemistry in a central Ontario Forested watershed

“…Different rock formations and Pb ore deposits thus contain Pb with characteristic isotopic ratios (Sangster et al 2000). Numerous studies have used stable Pb isotopes to estimate the relative contribution of anthropogenic sources to Pb accumulated in lake sediment cores, aerosols, snow, vegetation, soils and lichen (Blais 1996;Carignan and Gariepy 1995;Ettler et al 2004;Flegal et al 1989;Gallon et al 2005;Simonetti et al 2000;Sturges and Barrie 1989;. In general, isotopic data indicate that the biogeochemical Pb cycle is dominated by anthropogenic Pb inputs.…”

The isotopic evolution of atmospheric Pb in central Ontario since AD 1800, and its impacts on the soils, waters, and sediments of a forested watershed, Kawagama Lake

“…In addition to these studies employing peat cores from ombrotrophic bogs and two studies employing Sphagnum moss, the dominant peat-forming bog plant, from herbarium collections (Weiss et al, 1999b;Farmer et al, 2002), there has also been a number of retrospective studies of atmospheric Pb deposition using cores from minerotrophic wetlands such as marshes, swamps, and fens (Alfonso et al, 2001;Shotyk, 2002;Hettwer et al, 2003;Baron et al, 2005;Jackson et al, 2004;Monna et al, 2004;Kylander et al, 2007;Kamenov et al, 2009). Many of these publications include not only information about temporal changes in Pb concentrations, but also the isotopic composition of Pb which can be helpful in distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic sources of atmospheric Pb (Flegal et al, 1989;Sturges and Barrie, 1989; see Sangster et al, 2000 andKomarek et al, 2008, for reviews).…”

Origin of lead in the Gulf of California Ecoregion using stable isotope analysis

“…Because the proportion of Pb in SPM constituted the most abundant fraction of the total lead (N95%) in the unfiltered water samples, the isotopic composition was not determined in the dissolved fraction. For TIMS analysis, digested aliquots (0.5 mL) were purified in extractions using Teflon ® microcolumns loaded with AG1-X8 75-150 mesh anion exchange resin, flushed with HCl, and eluted with HBr, using established procedures (Flegal et al, 1989). To load Pb, 2 μl of an over-saturated silica gel solution was loaded onto a Re filament.…”

“…This survey of Pb pollution includes state-of-the-art techniques and instrumentation to measure concentrations and isotopic compositions of Pb encountered in samples from the environment to determine the level of contamination and identifying the major sources of this metal. The analysis of naturally occurring stable isotopes of Pb ( 204 Pb 1.4%, 206 Pb 24.1%, 207 Pb 22.1%, and 208 Pb 52.4%) has been widely used in environmental studies as tracers for the identification of the contamination origin and routes for transports of Pb (Flegal and Stukas, 1987;Flegal et al, , 1989Erel and Patterson, 1994;Church et al, 1994;Erel et al, 1997;Ritson et al, 1999;Bollhöfer and Rosman, 2001;Soto-Jiménez et al, 2006). The Pb isotopes has become a useful tool as tracers because they reflects the isotopic composition of Pb in natural rocks or deposits of lead ore used for its production (Chow, 1970).…”