Environmental trace metal contamination in Kellogg, Idaho, near a lead smelting complex

Abstract

~~Soil cores, grasses, and ambient air aerosols were sampled in the vicinity of a P b smelting complex in Kellogg, Idaho. Of 34 elements analyzed by instrumental neutron activation and x-ray fluorescence, Cd, Sb, Ag, Pb, Au, Zn, Se, As, In, Ni, Cu, and Hg were the most highly enriched, ranging in surface soils up to 7900 ppm Pb, 29 000 ppm Zn, and 140 ppm Cd. For grasses, P b ranged up to 10 000 ppm, Zn to 12 000 ppm, and Cd to 4400 ppm. Aerosol enrichments above contributions from local resuspended soils were 4100 for Cd, 180 for As, 110 for Pb, and 60 for Zn. These soil profiles, grass analyses, and aerosol enrichments indicate that other toxic elements, Cd, Se, As, Ni, and Hg, in addition to Pb, have significantly contaminated the Kellogg environment as a result of the smelting operations.State air pollution control agencies are increasingly concerned with the environmental impact of trace metals since, in aerosols, they are an inhalation hazard to man and animals and a stress hazard to plants. Trace metals can also function as catalysts in secondary transformation of atmospheric pollutants, e.g., in converting SO2 emissions into hazardous sulfates and sulfuric acid aerosols.Trace metals are introduced to the environment from a variety of sources: industrial emissions, fuel combustion, incineration, and transportation. In this paper we report the results of a study carried out at a mining and smelting site in Kellogg, Idaho.In 1974 it was reported ( I , 2) that two Kellogg preschool children were treated for P b poisoning and that 90% of the children subsequently tested showed abnormally high levels of P b in their blood.In 1976 the Shoshone Lead Health Project acknowledged that the center of abnormally high P b concentrations in the Valley is the smelting complex. Although leaching and wind blown dusts from tailings piles still constitute an active source, the largest active source of contamination is airborne emissions from the smelting complex ( 3 ) . However, the report did point out that the relative health significance of current emissions and previously deposited P b has not yet been established (3). Furthermore, emissions, depositions, and effects of other toxic elements were not systematically studied.We carried out multielement analyses of thirty 24-h highvolume (Hi-Vol) air particulate filters collected over a 12-month period in downtown Kellogg. T o measure the soil concentrations and to evaluate the contribution of windblown soil and tailings to local aerosols, we took soil cores along with grass samples at 12 sites, and tailings and sinter samples a t three sites.Our results constitute the most comprehensive multielement aerosol, soil, and grass analysis for Kellogg, Idaho, published to date. Further analyses of soil and vegetation should provide the necessary data base for determining the levels and rates of heavy metal deposition. These data could be used in an assessment of the resultant biological dose to man of toxic elements other than lead and, as such, are especially important because the...

A randomized controlled evaluation of absorption of silver with the use of silver alginate (Algidex) patches in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with central lines

“…Background levels appear to be less than 1 ng/m 3 as evidenced by the measurement of average silver concentrations of 0.018 ng/m 3 at Great Smoky Mountains National Park; 0.012 ng/m 3 at Olympic National Park; and less than 0.19 ng/m 3 at Glacier National Park (Davidson et al 1975). The highest particulate levels (mean --10.5 ng/m 3 ; range --0.936-36.5 ng/m 3 ) were measured in Kellogg, Idaho (in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin) near a large smelter complex (Ragaini et al 1977). In an industrialized area of northwest Indiana, silver was measured at less than l-5 ng/m 3 (Harrison et al 1971).…”

“…The major source of elevated silver levels in cultivated soils is from the application of sewage sludge and sludge effluents (Smith and Carson 1977). The average silver concentration in soils near a lead smelting complex in Kellogg, Idaho (in the Coeur d'hlene River Basin) was 20 ppm (range: 3.2-31 ppm) (Ragaini et al 1977). Klein (1972) measured soil metal concentrations in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area in order to examine possible relationships between concentrations and land use.…”

“…Approximately 71% of domestic mine production occurs in Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado; the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in Idaho supplies the greatest amount of silver (Drake 1980). Crops grown on soils with elevated silver concentrations (either from anthropogenic sources or from naturally high background levels) or exposed to high ambient atmospheric concentrations are likely to become enriched with silver (Ragaini et al 1977;Ward et al, 1979).…”

“…Soil samples have been analyzed for silver by AAS (Klein 1972), NAA, and x-ray fluorescence analysis (Ragaini et al 1977). No statements on the sensitivity, accuracy, or precision of these methods for soil analysis were presented in the brief description of these methods.…”

Toxicological Profile for Zinc

“…origin to the environment can be significant (EPA 1980d;Fishbein 1981;Mirenda 1986;NAS 1977;Nriagu 1989;Ragaini et al 1977;TRI02 2004). Soils and sediments are likely to contain significant quantities of zinc and its compounds (Connor and Shacklette 1975;Rice 1999;Shacklette and Boerngen 1984;USGS 2002).…”