Copper retention and toxicity in a freshwater sediment

✍ Scribed by C. A. Flemming; J. T. Trevors

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 627 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0049-6979
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00163745

✦ Synopsis

The effects of Cu(II) sulfate on sediment respiration were investigated in a 3-phase aquatic microcosm, containing a calcareous, southern Ontario stream sediment. In Cu 2 + treated flask-microcosms, with the pH restored to 7.1, both aerobic and anaerobic CO 2 evolution were unaffected by 5000 lig Cu g-1 sediment over a 40-day period at 15 °C. Oxygen consumption in sediment was initially unaffected by 5000 ~tg Cu g-1. However, after 35 to 40 days, a significant reduction of 28% was observed. The added Cu 2. was removed from the water column and the sediment solution. In microcosms containing 5000 ~tg g-1 of total Cu, only 1.00 + 0.76 ~tg g-1 was water soluble Cu, and the free cupric cation (Cu 2+ ) concentration was below the detection limit of the specific ion electrode (less than 0.01 ~tg g-~). Maximum Cu retention (98.6%) was observed at 2800 ~tg Cu g-1, above which fractional retention decreased. In a calcareous, organic rich, sediment of pH 7.1, Cu 2+ was essentially unvailable to exert a toxic effect on respiration.