Monitoring of Phosphorus Compounds in the Influence Zone Affected by Nuclear Power Plant Water Discharge in the Styr River (Western Ukraine): Case Study

Abstract

The main causes of surface water pollution with phosphate ions are various human activities. Monitoring the content of phosphorus compounds in surface waters is important for the management of water bodies. Phosphorus is an essential element for the life of flora and fauna, but in excessive amounts it can have a harmful effect on the environment. The inflow of phosphorus compounds into the Styr River (Western Ukraine) occurs as a result of the discharge of cooling water from the Rivne NPP’s cooling water system. This article has three purposes: (1) The inflow of phosphorus compounds to the Styr River occurs with the discharge of cooling water using 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP); (2) phosphorus compounds (phosphate ions, HEDP, and total phosphorus in surface waters of the Styr River) are monitored and analyzed, and the analysis of the quality of river water is carried out in accordance with environmental standards for the content of phosphorus compounds in the zone of influence of the Rivne NPP; (3) in terms of phosphorus content, the quality of the water of the Styr River, after the discharge of the Rivne NPP’s cooling water, is characterized as “satisfactory” and belongs to Class III. A seasonal trend of changes in the content of phosphate ions and total phosphorus was found, and the concentration of HEDP in the water of the Styr River depends on the technological dosage mode during the corrective treatment of the Rivne NPP.

Behaviour of dissolved inorganic salts in the cooling water of a nuclear power plant open recirculation system and formation of water discharge

“…The variations observed for the DIS content of the system cooling water of the RNPP ORS are greater than those observed for the make-up water quality, since there is constant make-up and evaporation with concentration [44]. Therefore, the temporal variation is more pronounced in the system cooling water than in the make-up water [45]. Changes in the proportions of make-up water and system cooling water are observed for all the except TH and Σ(Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ).…”

A numerical study of the surface water using levels of the organic pollution indexes: comparative characteristics and educational opportunities

“…The bene ts of this study are the use of different types of environmental standards and the exploration of students' recall of information about environmental standards and MPC in water bodies. Moreover, the different interpretations of the OPI levels obtained by the different methods of this study include the interpretation of results from 'none' for (3, 4) to 'pure' for (1,2). Students can acquire a systematic approach to the environmental assessment of pollution and avoid ambiguity in the interpretation of results 17 .…”

“…Water is widely used to meet human needs for drinking, irrigation, sheries and energy production, and the purpose of its use depends on the quality of the water, making the maintenance of its quality indicators relevant. Water quality is determined by physical, chemical and biological indicators 2 . The relevant documents regulating the impact of water discharges on the environment are the Water Code of Ukraine (WCU) 3 and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 4 .…”

Land-Use–Land Cover Changes in the Urban River’s Buffer Zone and Variability of Discharge, Water, and Sediment Quality—A Case of Urban Catchment of the Ngerengere River in Tanzania

“…Although river sediments are known for their ability to absorb some heavy metals and ultimately reduce water pollution, they will also release heavy metals into the water, causing secondary pollution that is difficult to control. In the sediments, the results indicated that potential sources of heavy metals are anthropogenic activities [96] and the weathering of the high-grade metamorphic rocks like amphibolite, gneiss, and granulites rocks dominantly present in the urban reaches of the Ngerengere catchment. In the dry season, high concentration ranges of the major heavy metals in the Ngerengere River sediments were 1.08 ± 0.06 mg/kg, 1.27 ± 0.02 mg/kg, 2.53 ± 0.056 mg/kg, 4.11 ± 0.02 mg/kg, and 0.64 ± 0.01 mg/kg for Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn, and Pb, respectively.…”

“…The elevated phosphate concentration at S2 might be attributed to point sources and non-point/diffuse sources, possibly containing both organic and inorganic forms of this element; the water at the sampling station, being a dam with low water velocity, facilitates the gradual settling of suspended solids (SSs) along with particulate phosphorus (PP) [95], and this phenomenon is responsible for eutrophication in surface water. Diffuse sources involve inputs from the leaching of geological rocks and land use, whereas point sources consist of industrial discharge [96]. In surface waters, phosphate and polyphosphate inorganic compounds constitute the prevalent forms of phosphorus, while organic phosphorus arises from the life processes and decay of aquatic organisms, along with human activities that contribute to phosphorus release [97].…”