Biomonitoring of heavy metals and organo-chlorinated compounds in a pulp mill effluent using introduced mussels

Abstract

A bleached kraft pulp mill discharges a vast array of substances and special attention should be given to heavy metals and organo-chlorinated compounds. They can persist in nature for a long period of time, are toxic to the wildlife community in certain concentrations, and can be incorporated into the food chain. The aim of this work is to monitor the quality of a bleached kraft pulp mill effluent using filter-feeding molluscs. Transplanted mussels were collected seasonally and analyzed for copper, zinc, cadmium, lead, manganese, iron, dioxins, furans and pentachlorophenol. All of the concentrations in mussels were low even when the mill operated different process types and production, and also during maintenance shut-downs.