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Title: Detailed study of selenium in soil, representative plants, water, bottom sediment, and biota in the Kendrick Reclamation Project Area, Wyoming, 1988-90. Water Resources Investigation

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5015854

In response to increasing concern about the quality of irrigation drainage and its potential effects on fish, wildlife, and human health, the U.S. Department of the Interior formed an interbureau group to address related water-quality problems. The Kendrick Reclamation Project area (Kendrick area) was one of nine areas in the western United States that were assigned the highest priority for investigation. The magnitude, effects, and exposure pathways of selenium associated with irrigation drainage are summarized in the report. Trace elements and constituents other than selenium were evaluated but generally were not at concentrations considered harmful to wildlife or humans. A geochemical survey of the rangeland to assess the importance of geological formations as a selenium source was done. In a separate survey of the irrigated land, significant differences in concentrations of total selenium were detected in soil samples collected from the fields sampled, but only 2 of the approximately 200 soil samples contained selenium concentrations larger than the baseline.

Research Organization:
Geological Survey, Cheyenne, WY (United States). Water Resources Div.
OSTI ID:
5015854
Report Number(s):
PB-92-181643/XAB; USGS/WRI-91-4131
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Prepared in cooperation with Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC., Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, DC., and Wyoming Dept. of Environmental Quality, Cheyenne
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English