Natural and Anthropogenic Processes That Concentrate Mn in Rural and Urban Environments of the Lower Mississippi River Delta

Abstract

This study evaluated natural processes and projected methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl fuel additives as sources of Mn accumulation in the environment. Data sets include fresh alluvium and sediments from the lower Mississippi River Delta and a soil metal survey of metropolitan New Orleans. The (1) railroad Mn, (2) industrial Mn, and (3) dynamic aquifer–stream transfer of Mn hypotheses were tested with the Mississippi River Delta data. Friction between Mn-rich steel wheels and rails contributes Mn ( P=0.017) to the environment, supporting (1). Sediment loads of Mn were similar ( P=0.77) upstream and downstream from the Louisiana industrial corridor, not supporting (2). The median Mn on the alluvium surface (59 mg/kg), in the aquifer (159 mg/kg), and in the riverbank aquifer discharge zone (513 mg/kg) support (3) as a mechanism for Mn enrichment of clay. The New Orleans soil metal survey data set shows a rural to urban increase of fourfold for Mn and three orders of magnitude for Pb. At 1999 U.S. highway fuel use, 8.3 mg of Mn per L would yield 5000 metric tons of Mn annually. If 13% of Mn were emitted, 650 tons of Mn would become aerosols annually, while 87% or 4350 tons would remain in engines. The 1999 toxic release inventory for Mn shows 370 tons as total emissions compared to the potential of 390 and 260 tons from vehicles, respectively, in urban and rural areas. A precautionary lesson from the use of Pb as a fuel additive is that the use of Mn as a fuel additive would be associated with an increased risk for neonates exceeding the estimated total tolerable daily intake of 2.1–16.5μg Mn (especially in urban inner city environments) because neonates lack fully functional hepatic clearance for Mn.