Title: An Assessment of the Feasibility of Using DGT Procedures to Measure Trace Metals and Radionuclides in Rivers
Author: W Davison
Author: W Hutchinson
Author: Environment Agency
Document Type: Monograph
Annotation: Environment Agency Project ID:EAPRJOUT_655, Representation ID: 220, Object ID: 1987
Abstract:
The development of quality standards and risk assessments protocols for the impacts of metals in contaminated waters is hampered by the absence of a simple chemical diagnostic for potential metal toxicity. Measurements of total metals are inappropriate because toxicity depends on the availability of the metal to the biota, and hence the amount of free or weakly bound metal. There is a requirement for a device capable of acting as a surrogate for bioavailable metal. The new procedure of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) has recently emerged. Prior to this contract, DGT had only been partially tested for zinc and cadmium and its application was restricted to seawater The aims of the research were to develop DGT into a practical device and to establish its feasibility for measuring several metals in freshwater, including cadmium and mercury. The report concludes that: DGT is a cheap reliable device which can be used to measure quantitatively, in situ labile species of trace metals and potentially radionuclides. Further work is required to test DGT devices in a range of field conditions, to improve its use for mercury, to extend its use to anionic species and nutrients and to test its ability for use as a surrogate test for bioavailability.
Publisher: Environment Agency
Subject Keywords: Water pollution; Water quality; Metals; Cadmium; Mercury; Freshwater ecology
Extent: 42
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:4512
Total file downloads: 227
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