WP3 Metals in the Environment: Chemistry and Fate Issues
254 Portland Ballroom
1:20 PM - 4:40 PM, Wednesday
() Development of a Unit World Model for Metals in Aquatic Environments.
Farley, K1, Costanzo, R1, Carbonaro, R1, Di Toro, D2, 3, 1 Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY, 104712 HydroQual, Inc., Mahwah, NJ, 074303 University of Delaware, Newark, DE
ABSTRACT- Models that are currently available to assess the fate and effects of metals in aquatic environments (e.g., Diamond, 1990; DiToro et al., 1991) are based largely on descriptions for hydrophobic organic contaminants and do not properly describe processes affecting the transport, fate, and bioavailability of metals. A more refined model is therefore being developed to support regulatory decision making for the release of metals and metal compounds to the environment. For this purpose, we are considering an intact aquatic environment (i.e., a unit world) for several idealized environments including a stratified lake, a shallow lake, a high-gradient stream, and a low-gradient stream or river. Initial work is focusing on waste load allocations for shallow lakes and streams. The modeling framework is based on the Tableau Input Coupled Kinetic Equilibrium Transport (TICKET) model and includes inorganic complexation and precipitation (following MINEQL+), binding to humic matter (following WHAM V), sorption to iron oxides (following the surface complexation model of Dzombak and Morel), and toxicity (following the Biotic Ligand Model). Preliminary application of the model to lakes (e.g., Perch Lake, Lake Baldegg, Ross Lake) will be presented, along with a demonstration of the model for waste load allocation.
Key words: model, metals, fate, toxicity