Abstract
The discharge of heavy metal wastes into receiving waters may result in numerous physical, chemical, and biological responses. These can be separated into two broad categories: (i) effects of the environment on the metal, and (ii) effects of the metal on the environment. The first category emphasizes that conditions in receiving waters may lead to a change in the speciation and toxicity of metals. Such conditions include differential input of anthropogenic and geochemical material, quality of industrial effluents, and concentration of chelators and suspended solids. Biological responses under the second category are often equally diverse. Depending on environmental conditions, there may be a change in density, diversity, community structure, and species composition of populations. The nature and extent of change depends largely on the concentration of heavy metal species in the water and sediment. Hence, physicochemical processes within effluents and natural waters have a major, albeit indirect, effect on biological responses.
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Moore, J.W., Ramamoorthy, S. (1984). Impact of Heavy Metals in Natural Waters. In: Heavy Metals in Natural Waters. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5210-8_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5210-8_10
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