The Impact of Lead-Zinc Mining on the Quality and Ecology of Surface Waters in Southeast Missouri

摘要

The background concentrations were determined for copper, lead, and zinc in the streams of the Viburnum Trend or New Lead Belt of Southeast Missouri. Analytical methods were developed for atomic absorption spectroscopy. These methods initially consisted of coextraction of copper, lead, and zinc using the APDC/MIBK system, and finally of extraction of copper by APDC/MIBK and direct analysis of lead and zinc using the newly developed 'Sampling Boat' technique. The data obtained from these analyses were arranged in histograms and critically analyzed. The background concentrations were established to be 4-6 ppb for all three elements. Methods are presented for identifying both short term and long term contamination by using the data distributions. The data distributions were not useful for geochemical prospecting under the studied geological conditions. (Author)