Science of Water : Concepts and Applications

Water Pollution 203
10. Materials stockpiles
• Coal pile—Aluminum, iron, calcium, manganese, sulfur, and traces of arsenic, cadmium,
mercury, lead, zinc, uranium, and copper.
• Other materials piles—Metals/nonmetals and microorganisms.
11. Graveyards—Metals, nonmetals, and microorganisms.
12. Animal burial—Contamination is site-specifi c—depending on disposal practices, surface
and subsurface, hydrology, proximity of the site to water sources, type and amount of disposed
material, and cause of death.
13. Above ground storage tanks—Organics, metal/nonmetal inorganics, inorganic acids,
microorganisms, and radionuclides.
14. Underground storage tanks—Organics, metal, inorganic acids, microorganisms, and
radionuclides.
15. Containers—Organics, metal/nonmetal inorganics, inorganic acids, microorganisms, and
radionuclides.
16. Open burning and detonating sites—Inorganics, including heavy metals; organics, including
TNT.
17. Radioactive disposal sites—Radioactive cesium, plutonium, strontium, cobalt, radium,
thorium, and uranium.
18. Pipelines—Organics, metals, inorganic acids, and microorganisms.
19. Material transport and transfer operations—Organics, metals, inorganic acids, microorganisms,
and radionuclides.
20. Irrigation practices—Fertilizers, pesticides, naturally occurring contamination and
sediments.
21. Pesticide applications—1200–1400 active ingredients. Contamination already detected:
alachlor, aldicarb, atrazine, bromacil, carbofuran, cyanazine, DBCP, DCPA, 1,2-dichloropropane,
dyfonate, EDB, metolachlor, metribyzen, oxalyl, siazine, and 1,2,3-trichloropropane.
The extent of groundwater contamination cannot be determined with current
data.
22. Animal feeding operations—Nitrogen, bacteria, viruses, and phosphates.
23. De-icing salts applications—Chromate, phosphate, ferric ferocyanide, Na-ferrocyan, and
chlorine.
24. Urban runoff—Suspended solids and toxic substances, especially heavy metals and hydrocarbons,
bacteria, nutrients, and petroleum residues.
25. Percolation of atmospheric pollutants—Sulfur and nitrogen compounds, asbestos, and
heavy metals.
26. Mining and mine drainage
• Coal—Acids, toxic inorganics (heavy metals), and nutrients.
• Phosphate—Radium, uranium, and fl uorides.
• Metallic ores—Sulfuric acid, lead, cadmium, arsenic, sulfur, and cyan.
27. Production wells
• Oil—1.2 million abandoned production wells.
• Irrigation—Farms.
•
All—Potential to contaminate: installation, operation, and plugging techniques.
28. Construction excavation—Pesticides, diesel fuel, oil, salt, and variety of others.
√ Note: Before discussing specifi c water pollutants, it is important to examine several terms
important to the understanding of water pollution. One of these is point source. The USEPA
defi nes a point source as “any single identifi able source of pollution from which pollutants are
discharged, e.g., a pipe, ditch, ship, or factory smokestack.” For example, the outlet pipes of
an industrial facility or a municipal wastewater treatment plant are point sources. In contrast,
nonpoint sources are widely dispersed sources and are a major cause of stream pollution. An