Analysis of lead in polluted coastal seawater

Abstract

The concentrations of total lead were determined in both ordinary coastal seawater and in coastal waters highly polluted with sewage. The average concentration of total lead ranged from about 25 ng/kg in surface samples of the former type to an average of 150 ng/kg in the latter type. 0.4 − μm filtrate lead was found to be equivalent to lead extracted from untreated seawater by dithizone in chloroform. In highly polluted waters, particle lead ranged from 56 to 39% of the total lead, with the proportion increasing as the amount of sewage in the seawater increased. Virtually all of the lead in sewage is contained in the particle phase before it enters the ocean but about 11% is made freely available by cation exchange when the sewage is mixed with seawater. In ordinary coastal waters that are not highly polluted with sewage lead, particle lead ranged from 90 to > 20%, and most of this lead was associated with plankton. About one-third of total lead, or one-half of particle lead, in untreated seawater adheres to the walls of the water container within the first day. Upon prolonged standing (> 3 months) most of the remaining particle lead can be collected on the surface of algal colonies growing on the walls of the water container. The concentrations of freely available lead in seawater do not seem to be significantly affected by wall adsorption. The 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratio of total lead in coastal surface seawater collected near Los Angeles was 1.194, and a day earlier was 1.188 near La Jolla. It is believed that this shows lack of mixing of contributions from two different sources of lead pollution: a pulse of rain-storm runoff of gasoline lead( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ∼ 1.197) from paved surfaces added to Los Angeles waters; and sewage lead ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ∼ 1.188) from San Diego added to La Jolla waters.