Acidity can be detrimental to life forms. Table 2 shows the effects of low pH on fish.
pH range | Effect |
---|---|
6.5–9.0 | No effect |
6.0–6.4 | Unlikely to be harmful except when carbon dioxide levels are very high (1000 mg l−1) |
5.0–5.9 | Not especially harmful except when carbon dioxide levels are high (20 mg l−1) or ferric ions are present |
4.5–4.9 | Harmful to the eggs of salmon and trout species (salmonids) and to adult fish when levels of calcium, sodium and chloride are low |
4.0–4.4 | Harmful to adult fish of many types that have not been progressively acclimated to low pH |
3.5–3.9 | Lethal to salmonids, although acclimated roach can survive for longer |
3.0–3.4 | Most fish are killed within hours at these levels |
In addition, highly acidic waters can dissolve heavy metals, especially if the pH is below 3. This occurs in the case of mine wastewaters. The metals present tend to be brought into solution, especially iron, zinc, lead and molybdenum.
The information that is available on metal pollutants tends to refer to the total concentration of the metals; unfortunately this provides little information on a metal’s bioavailability (i.e. the ability of an organism to take up the metal) or how long the metal will stay in solution before it is removed into sediment. To be able to predict the adverse effects of metal pollutants in water it is necessary to determine the physical form or chemical speciation of the metal present, since metals can exist in a wide range of forms. The subject is too complicated to be covered fully here, but the following two theoretical examples are extreme cases of metal pollution to show the range of events that can occur.
Metals dissolved in water can enter the food chain by a variety of mechanisms. For example:
Fish can take in metals by
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