Abstract
One of the most extensive and prolonged cases of selenium poisoning in freshwater fish occurred at Belews Lake, NC in the United States (Fig. 3.1). Belews Lake was contaminated by selenium in wastewater released from a coal-fired electric generating facility. From 1974 to 1986, water was withdrawn from the lake and mixed with bottom ash from the coal burners and fly ash collected by electrostatic precipitators. This slurry was pumped from the power plant and discharged into a 142 ha ash basin, where suspended solids were collected by gravitational settling. Selenium-laden (150–200 μg Se/L) return flows from the ash basin entered the west side of Belews Lake through an ash sluice water canal (Lemly 1985).
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Lemly, A.D. (2002). Toxic Effects of Selenium in Fish. In: Selenium Assessment in Aquatic Ecosystems. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0073-1_3
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