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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) andBrogan & Partners are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Environmental Health Perspectives.The concentrations of four chemical species of arsenic in urine were observed with time, after ingestion of three different chemical species of arsenic. The arsenic-rich substances ingested, inelwwde(5 arsenite-rich wine, arsenate-rich dnnking water, and crab meat which contained organo-arsenic compounds. After ingestion of arsenite-rich wine, appronmately IOto of the arsenic was exereted as arsenite, but the majority of the arsenic was methylated to methylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid and exereted. After ingestion of arsenate-rich water, elevated levels of both arsenate and dimethylarsinic acid were observed. When crab meat was ingested, none of these four arsenic species were observed at elevated levels until the urine was heated in 2N NaOH. After the hot base digestion, high levels of dimethylarsinic acid were detected in these samples. The apparent biological half-lives were on the order of 10 hr for inorganic arsenic and 30 hr for the methylated arsenic forms.

Heavy metal escapement associated with ore trucks is known to occur along the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System (DMTS) haul road corridor in Cape Krusenstern National Monument, northwest Alaska. Heavy metal concentrations in Hylocomium splendens moss (n = 226) were used in geostatistical models to predict the extent and pattern of atmospheric deposition of Cd and Pb on Monument lands. A stratified grid-based sample design was used with more intensive sampling near mine-related activity areas. Spatial predictions were used to produce maps of concentration patterns, and to estimate the total area in 10 moss concentration categories.Heavy metal levels in moss were highest immediately adjacent to the DMTS haul road (Cd N 24 mg/kg dw; Pb N 900 mg/kg dw). Spatial regression analyses indicated that heavy metal deposition decreased with the log of distance from the DMTS haul road and the DMTS port site. Analysis of subsurface soil suggested that observed patterns of heavy metal deposition reflected in moss were not attributable to subsurface lithology at the sample points. Further, moss Pb concentrations throughout the northern half of the study area were high relative to concentrations previously reported from other Arctic Alaska sites. Collectively, these findings indicate the presence of mine-related heavy metal deposition throughout the northern portion of Cape Krusenstern National Monument.Geospatial analyses suggest that the Pb depositional area extends 25 km north of the haul road to the Kisimilot/Iyikrok hills, and possibly beyond. More study is needed to determine whether higher moss heavy metal concentrations in the northernmost portion of the study area reflect deposition from mining-related activities, weathering from mineralized Pb/Zn outcrops in the This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright in the United States.broader region, or a combination of the two. South of the DMTS haul road, airborne deposition appears to be constrained by the Tahinichok Mountains. Heavy metal levels continue to diminish south of the mountains, reaching a minimum in the southernmost portion of the study area near the Igichuk Hills (45 km from the haul road). The influence of the mine site was not studied. D

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It has been proposed that acid volatile sulfide (AVS) is an important sediment phase for determining the toxicity of certain trace metals. By evaluating the ratio of the molar quantities of simultaneously extracted metal (SEM) to AVS, the toxicity of metals to organisms in contact with sediment can be predicted. This study examines the role of AVS in predicting the toxicity of zinc, lead, and copper in marine sediments.Sediment samples were titrated with zinc, lead, and copper and subsequently analyzed for SEM, pore-water (PW) metal, and AVS retention. In most cases, metal was not detected in the pore waters until the AVS was exceeded, suggesting that AVS is an adequate measure of the metal-binding capacity of a sediment. The [SEMI-to-[AVS] ratios were calculated and toxicities predicted for each spiking concentration where [SEM]/[AVS] > 1. A 10-d, flow-through, acute bioassay using the marine polychaete Cupitellu cupitutu was conducted to examine the prediction of toxicity from the metal titrations and the bioassay sediment chemistry data. In most cases, mortalities occurred as predicted. AVS and the [SEMI-to-[AVS] ratio proved useful as predictors of toxicity for zinc, lead, and perhaps copper. Another tool for predicting metal toxicity in sediments may be the [PW]/LC50 value; in every case where this ratio was > 1, mortalities occurred.