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Chrysotile Asbestos in California Surface Waters: From Upstream Rivers Through Water Treatment
Author(s) -
Bales Roger C.,
Newkirk Dale D.,
Hayward Steven B.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1984.tb05336.x
Subject(s) - chrysotile , environmental science , foothills , asbestos , hydrology (agriculture) , weathering , surface water , coagulation , fiber , geology , environmental engineering , geochemistry , chemistry , ecology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , metallurgy , psychology , psychiatry , organic chemistry , biology
Concentrations of chrysotile asbestos fibers in surface waters in California are estimated from a mass‐balance model that takes into consideration natural weathering of serpentine rock in the Sierra Nevada and coastal mountains and removal of fibers by coagulation in reservoirs. Fiber concentrations range from 10 8 /L in waters from the western slope of the Sierra Nevada foothills in the central part of the state to 10 12 /L in rivers in the northwest part of the state. As predicted, fiber removals of from 90 to 99.8 percent were observed in reservoirs with detention times of from 0.5 to 3 years. Removal of submicron‐sized fibers in water treatment plants also ranged from 90 to 99.8 percent, depending on the degree of coagulation prior to filtration.