Medically-Derived 131I as a Tool for Investigating the Fate of Wastewater Nitrogen in Aquatic Environments

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Paula S. Rose ; Joseph P. Smith ; Robert C. Aller ; J. Kirk Cochran ; R. Lawrence Swanson ; Richard B. Coffin
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：September 1, 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：49
• 期：17
• 页码：10312-10319
• 全文大小：451K
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

Medically derived ¹³¹I (t_1/2 = 8.04 d) is discharged from water pollution control plants (WPCPs) in sewage effluent. Iodine鈥檚 nutrient-like behavior and the source-specificity of ¹³¹I make this radionuclide a potentially valuable tracer in wastewater nitrogen studies. Iodine-131 was measured in Potomac River water and sediments in the vicinity of the Blue Plains WPCP, Washington, DC, USA. Dissolved ¹³¹I showed a strong, positive correlation with 未¹⁵N values of nitrate (未¹⁵NO₃^{鈥?/sup>) in the river, the latter being a traditional indicator of nutrient inputs and recycling. Surface water 未15NO₃鈥?/sup> values ranged from 8.7 to 33.4鈥? NO₃鈥?/sup> + NO₂鈥?/sup> concentrations were 0.39鈥?.79 mg N L鈥? (26鈥?86 渭M). Sediment profiles of particulate 131I and 未15N indicate rapid mixing or sedimentation and in many cases remineralization of a heavy nitrogen source consistent with wastewater nitrogen. Values of 未15N in sediments ranged from 4.7 to 9.3鈥? This work introduces 131I as a tool to investigate the short-term fate of wastewater nitrogen in the Potomac River and demonstrates the general utility of 131I in aquatic research.}