Trace Elements in Six Water Systems of the United States

Abstract

This article begins by describing the U.S. Public Health Service Water Pollution Surveillance System that was established in 1957 for the collection and dissemination of basic data on water quality. The article lists the materials that fall into the trace metal category that may be measured spectrographically, along with the significance of each metal. This article discusses the sample preparation and the spectrographic method used in the analyses and summarizes the results of analyses of samples from six major water systems of the U.S. since the beginning of the program. The six major water systems include the Ohio River, Colorado River, Missouri River, Columbia River, Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes.

Trace elements in the Upper Fly River, Papua New Guinea

“…Metal concentrations in various river systems have been summarized by Livingstone (1963) and more recent accounts include those of Kroner & Kopp (1965) Cushing & Rancitelli (1972), and Carbonnel & Meybeck (1975). These studies cover investigations in which there is no enrichment of metals and so serve as a contrast to the present survey.…”

“…Metal concentrations in various river systems have been summarized by Livingstone (1963) and more recent accounts include those of Kroner & Kopp (1965), Williams. Lopp & Tarzweil (1966), Turekian & Scott (1967), Angino, Galle & Waugh (1969), Cushing & Rancitelli (1972), and Carbonnel & Meybeck (1975).…”

Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water

“…Durfor and Becker (1964) found none above their detection limit in the public water supplies they studied. Kroner and Kopp (1965) found detectable quantities, generally below 10 /ig/1 in a few samples from the Colorado, Mississippi, and Columbia Kivers. The element is considered toxic, and a recommended upper concentration limit of 10 /ig/1 for drinking water has been given ( U.S.…”

“…Somewhat similar information for major rivers of the U.S.S.R. was being obtained at that time, and some of those results were published by Konovalov (1959). Kroner and Kopp (1965) Chemical analyses for the water supplies of the 100 largest cities of the United States were compiled by Durfor and Becker (1964). Their report contains data for 26 minor constituents detected in these waters by means of the emission spectrograph.…”

Lead in the environment

“…The lead content ranged from 0.9 to 11 p.g/1, with an average of 5 p.g/l. A survey of the concentration of lead and other trace elements in the Colorado, Columbia, Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers and in the Great Lakes was presented by Kroner and Kopp (1965). In only a few samples did the lead concentration exceed the U.S. Public Health Service drinking water standard.…”