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An Assessment of Mercury in Municipal Sewage Sludge Applied to Land

EPA Grant Number: U914711
Title: An Assessment of Mercury in Municipal Sewage Sludge Applied to Land
Investigators: Carpi, Anthony
Institution: Cornell University
EPA Project Officer: Broadway, Virginia
Project Period: January 1, 1995 through January 1, 1997
Project Amount: $68,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1995)
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Academic Fellowships

Description:

Objective:

The overall objective of this research project is to add to the existing knowledge of trace metal contamination in municipal sewage sludge (MSS) to aid in informed decision making. The specific objective of this research project is to make use of significant scientific collaboration to increase the potential success and minimize the costs of a study of elemental mercury and methylmercury in MSS destined for application to agricultural lands.

Approach:

With the recent increase in the practice of land application of MSS to land, it is important to understand the fate and toxicity of all potential contaminants. Elemental mercury and methylmercury are two pollutants that may contaminate or be formed in MSS. Although water resources are extremely sensitive to mercury contamination because of the high biomagnification factor for methlymercury in fish, little research exists currently on these potential pollutants in MSS. Elemental mercury emissions from land-applied MSS will be investigated using two published and proven field measurement methods. Total mercury and methylmercury contamination, transformation, and transport in MSS will be studied using strict sampling and analytical quality control procedures to insure accuracy. Once field sampling and chemical analyses are complete, the risks posed by the potential movement of these two contaminants to water resources will be evaluated.

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, municipal sewage sludge, MSS, toxicity, pollutant, mercury, methymercury, contamination, decisionmaking. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Waste, RFA, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecological Monitoring, Municipal, Environmental Chemistry, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, Ecology and Ecosystems, agriculture ecosystems, municipal sewage sludge, metal release, ecosystem assessment, mercury, metals, ecological assessment, municipal wastewater, municipal sludge, municipal waste

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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