You are here:
TRACE ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN ANTHROPOGENICALLY ACIDIFIED SURFACE WATERS
Citation:
Ford, J. AND T. Young. TRACE ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN ANTHROPOGENICALLY ACIDIFIED SURFACE WATERS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-92/282.
Description:
The biological effects of trace organic contaminants in anthropogenically acidified surface waters are mediated by the nature of the association of trace organics with dissolved and particulate organic matter (DOC and POC). his paper (1) briefly reviews available deposition estimates for selected contaminants in areas of North America currently receiving acidic deposition, (2) provides a graphical description interrelating selected common organic contaminants according to basic physico-chemical properties that affect partitioning in aquatic systems (solubility, vapor pressure, and octanol-water partition coefficient), and (3) discusses the likely effects of surface water acidification on POC/DOC-contaminant-biota partitioning, based on this spectrum of properties.