An assessment of methyl mercury and volatile mercury in land-applied sewage sludge
Conference
·
OSTI ID:452087
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
In 1993, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations covering the land-application of municipal sewage sludge. These regulations established maximum pollutant concentrations and were based upon a risk assessment of human exposure. Mercury, assumed to be inorganic and non-volatile, was one pollutant evaluated. From April, 1995 through February, 1996, the authors studied the species of mercury contaminating municipal sludge applied to land, and the potential for volatilization of mercury from land-applied sludge. Methyl mercury was found at 0.1% of total mercury concentrations and was emitted from land-applied sludge to the atmosphere. Elemental mercury (Hg) was formed in land-applied sludge via the reduction of oxidized mercury and was also emitted to the atmosphere. Hg emission from land-applied sludge was significantly elevated over background soil emission. Methyl mercury is more toxic and more highly bioaccumulated than inorganic mercury, and warrants assessment considering these special criteria. Additionally, mercury emission from sludge-amended soil may lead to the contamination of other environmental media with significant concentrations of the metal. Although these pathways were not evaluated in the regulatory risk assessment, they are an important consideration for evaluating the risks from mercury in land-applied sludge. This presentation will summarize the results of a re-assessment of US EPA regulations regarding the land-application of municipal sewage sludge using data on methyl mercury toxicity and mercury transport in the atmosphere.
- OSTI ID:
- 452087
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961149--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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