Organohalogen Products from Chlorination of Cooling Water at Nuclear Power Stations.

摘要

Eight nuclear power plants at seven locations in the U.S. were studied to determine the effects of chlorine, added as a biocide, on the composition of cooling water discharge. Water, sediment and biota samples from the sites were analyzed for total organic halogen and a variety of organohalogen compounds. Haloforms were discharged from all plants studied, at concentrations of a few micrograms/L (parts-per-billion). The data from this indicate that power plants with cooling towers discharge a significant portion of the haloforms formed during chlorination to the atmosphere. A complex mixture of halogenated phenols was found in the cooling water discharges of the power units. Cooling towers act to concentrate halogenated phenols to levels approaching those of the haloforms. Examination of samples by capillary gas chromatography/mass/mass spectrometry did not result in identification of any significant concentrations of lipophilic base-neutral compounds that could be shown to be formed by the chlorination process. Total concentrations of lipophilic (bioabsorbable) and volatile organohalogen material discharged ranged from about 2 to 4 micrograms/L. Analysis of sediment samples for organohalogen material suggests that certain chlorination products may accumulate in sediments.