Using a Risk-based Approach for Derivation of Water Quality Guidelines for Sulphate

Vellemu, EC; Mensah, PK; Griffin, NJ; Odume, ON; Palmer, CG; Dowse, R

Using a Risk-based Approach for Derivation of Water Quality Guidelines for Sulphate

Vellemu, EC Mensah, PK Griffin, NJ Odume, ON Palmer, CG Dowse, R

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Mine Water and the Environment, 2018, 37 (1), pp. 166 - 173
Issue Date:: 2018-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Vellemu, EC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mensah, PK	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Griffin, NJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Odume, ON	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Palmer, CG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dowse, R https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2074-9943	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-03-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Mine Water and the Environment, 2018, 37 (1), pp. 166 - 173	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1025-9112	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131121
dc.description.abstract	© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany. Sulphate is a major salt component in acid mine drainage and a crucial ecological concern in most coal and gold mining regions, globally. However, there remains a paucity of data on sulphate salinity toxicity on freshwater taxa. In this study, we hypothesised sensitivity differences for five freshwater species (Adenophlebia auriculata, Burnupia stenochorias, Caridina nilotica, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, and Oreochromis mossambicus) to increasing sulphate salinity concentrations after 240 h of exposure. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were used to rank the sensitivity of tested species to the inorganic sulphate salts, which included magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), sodium sulphate (Na2SO4), and calcium sulphate (CaSO4) as models of mining salinisation in South Africa. The SSDs were also used to estimate appropriate protective concentrations of the salts for the tested species. Sensitivity differences were measured and Na2SO4 was the most toxic of the tested salts. A concentration of 0.020 g/L Na2SO4, 0.055 g/L CaSO4, and 0.108 g/L MgSO4 or a combined salts limit of 0.067 g/L would be protective of 95% of the populations of the five species tested; these all suggest that the 0.25 g/L compliance limit for South Africa is insufficient. Future studies should incorporate more species in the SSD approach to be coupled by field validations to further improve the ecological relevance of these findings.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Mine Water and the Environment	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10230-017-0480-2	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Geochemistry & Geophysics	en_US
dc.title	Using a Risk-based Approach for Derivation of Water Quality Guidelines for Sulphate	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	37	en_US
utslib.for	0914 Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	37	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany. Sulphate is a major salt component in acid mine drainage and a crucial ecological concern in most coal and gold mining regions, globally. However, there remains a paucity of data on sulphate salinity toxicity on freshwater taxa. In this study, we hypothesised sensitivity differences for five freshwater species (Adenophlebia auriculata, Burnupia stenochorias, Caridina nilotica, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, and Oreochromis mossambicus) to increasing sulphate salinity concentrations after 240 h of exposure. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were used to rank the sensitivity of tested species to the inorganic sulphate salts, which included magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), sodium sulphate (Na2SO4), and calcium sulphate (CaSO4) as models of mining salinisation in South Africa. The SSDs were also used to estimate appropriate protective concentrations of the salts for the tested species. Sensitivity differences were measured and Na2SO4 was the most toxic of the tested salts. A concentration of 0.020 g/L Na2SO4, 0.055 g/L CaSO4, and 0.108 g/L MgSO4 or a combined salts limit of 0.067 g/L would be protective of 95% of the populations of the five species tested; these all suggest that the 0.25 g/L compliance limit for South Africa is insufficient. Future studies should incorporate more species in the SSD approach to be coupled by field validations to further improve the ecological relevance of these findings.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131121