Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Silver
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United States Office of Water EPA 440/5-80-071 Environmental Protection Regulations and Standards October 1980 Agency Criteria and Standards Division Washington DC 20460 SEPA Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Silver .... AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA FOR SILVER Prepared By U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Office of Water Regulations and Standards Criteria and Standards Division Washington, D.C. Office of Research and Development Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office Cincinnati, Ohio Carcinogen Assessment Group Washington, D.C. Environmental Research Laboratories Corvalis, Oregon Duluth, Minnesota Gulf Breeze, Florida Narragansett, Rhode Island , ., " , i DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. AVAILABILITY NOTICE This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161. :1"':""'"),-;",1 'J " ~ ~.~ .:\, :,," :.l< "'II:: .' " ii FOREWORD Section 304 (a)(1) of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217), requires the J\dministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish criter-ia for water quality accurately reflecting the latest scientific kno'w1edge on the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on health and welfare which may be expected from the presence of pollutants in amy body of water, including ground water. Proposed water quality criter"ia for the 65 toxic pollutants listed under section 307 (a)(I) of the Clean Water Act were developed and a notice of their availability wa,s published for public cormnent on March 15, 1979 (44 FR 15926), July 25, 1979 (44 FR 43660), and October 1, 1979 (44 FR 56628). This document ;:s a revision of those proposed criteria based upon a consideration o'f cormnents received from other Federal Agencies, State agencies, special interest groups, and individual scientists. The criteria contained in this document replace any previously published EPA criteri a for the 65 poll utants. Th i s criterion document is also pUblished in sat,isifaction of paragraph 11 of the Settlement Agreement in Natural ResOl'Jrces Defense Council, et. a1. vs. Train, 8 ERC 2120 (D.D.C. 1976), modified, 12 ERC 1833 (D.D.C. 1979). ll The term IIwal,ter quality criteria is used in two sections of the Clean Water Act, :section 304 (a)(I) and section 303 (c)(2). The term has a different program impact in each section. In section 304, the term represents a non-regulatory, scientific assessment of ecological ef fects. The critelria'presented in this publication are such scientific assessments. SLich water qual ity criteri a associ ated with specific stream uses when adopted as State water quality standards under section 303 become enforceable maximum acceptable levels of a pollutant in ambient waters. The water quality criteria adopted in the State water quality standards could have the same numerical limits as the criteria developed under sl~ction 304. However, in many situations States may want to adjust water quality criteria developed under section 304 to reflect local environmental conditions and human exposure patterns before incorporation into water quality standards. It is not until their adoption as part of the State water quality standards that the criteria become regulatory. Guidelines to assist the States in the modification of criteria presented in this document, in the development of water quality standards, and in other water-related programs of this Agency, are being developed by EPA. STEVEN SCHATZOW Deputy Assistant Administrator Office of Water Regulations and Standards iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Aquatic Life Toxicology William A. Brungs, ERL-Narragansett David J. Hansen, ERL-Gulf Breeze U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mlammalian Toxicology and Human Health Effects Bonnie Carson (author) Robert M. Bruce, ECAO-RTP Midwest Research Institute U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Christopher DeRosa (doc. mgr.), ECAO-Cin Richard Bull, HERL U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bonnie Smith (doc. mgr.), ECAO-Cin Patrick Durkin U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Syracuse Research Corporation Ernest Foulkes Alfred Garv;n University of Cincinnati University of Cincinnati Dinko Kello Terri Laird, ECAO-Cin Institute for Medical Research U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Edward W. Lawless Steven D. Lutkenhoff, ECAO-Cin Midwest Research Institute U. S. Envi ronmenta"1 Protecti on Agency Jerry F. Stara, ECAO-Cin U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technical Support Services Staff: D.J. Reisman, M.A. Garlough, B.L. Zwayer, P.A. Daunt, K.S. Edwards, T.A. Scandura, A.T. Pressley, C.A. Cooper, M.M. Denessen. Clerical Staff: C.A. Haynes, S.J. Faehr, L.A. Wade, D. Jones" B.J. Bordicks, B.J. Quesnell, P. Gray, B. Gardiner, R. Swantack. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Criteria Summary Introduction A-l Aquatic Life Toxicology B-1 Introduction Effects B-3 Acute Toxicity B-3 Chronic Toxicity 8-6 Plant Effects 8-10 Residues 8-11 Miscellaneous 8-11 SUlTlT1ary 8-12 Criteri a 8-13 References 8-34 Mammalian Toxicology and Human Health Effects Introduction C-l Exposure C-1 Ingestion from Water C-l Ingestion from Food C-17 Inhalation C-21 Dermal C-29 Pharmacokinetics C-33 Absorption C-33 Distribution C-40 Metabolism C-52 Excretion C-56 Effects C..68 Acute, Subacute and Chronic Toxicity C-68 Synergism and/or Antagonism C 94 Teratogenicity C-102 Mutagenicity C-104 Carcinogenicity C-106 Criterion Formulation C-116 Existing Guidelines and Standards C-116 Current Levels of Exposure C-119 Special Groups at Risk C..121 Basis and Derivation of Criterion C-122 References C..129 v CRITERIA DOCUMENT SILVER CR ITER IA Aquatic Life For freshwater aquatic life the concentration (in ~g/l) of total recoverable silver should not exceed the numerical value given by e(1.72[ln(hardness)]-6.52) at any time. For example, at hardnesses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/1 as CaC0 3, the concentration of total recoverable silver should not exceed 1.2, 4.1, and 13 ~g/1, respectively, at any time. The available data indicate that chronic toxicity to freshwater aquatic life may occur at concentrations as low as 0.12 ~g/l. For saltwater aauatic life the concentration of total recoverable silver Should not exceed 2.3 ~g/1 at any time. No data are available concerning the chronic toxicity of silver to sensitive saltwater aquatic life. Human Health The ambient water auality criterion for silver is recommended to be identical to the existing water standard which is 50 ~g/l. Analysis of the toxic effects data resulted in a calculated level which is protective of human health against the ingestion of contaminated water and contaminated aauatic organisms. The calculated value is comparable to the present stan dard. For this reason a selective criterion based on exposure solely from consumption of 6.5 grams of aquatic organisms was not derived. vi I NTRODUCTI ON Silver is a white, ductile metal occurring naturally in the pure form and in ores. Principal uses of silver are in photographic materials, elec troplating, as a conductor, in dental alloys, solder and brazing alloys, paints, jewelry, silverware, coinage, and mirror production. Silver is of some use as an antibacterial agent and has been shown to be bactericidal even in concentrations that are not great enough to precipitate proteins; the assumption is that silver is capable of interfering with essential meta bolic processes in the bacterial cell (Goodman and Gilman, 1975). Silver can exist in two valence states, Ag+ and Ag++. It has an atomic weight of 107.87. Solubilities of a few common silver salts in water are: AgCl, 1,930 ~g/l; AgN0 , Z.5 x 109 ~g/l; and AgI, 30 ~g/l (Windholz, 3 1976). Silver occurs primarily in the form of the sulfide (argentite A9ZS) or intimately associated with other metal sulfides, especially those of lead and copper. Other common silver minerals include cerargyrite (AgCl ), proustite (3AgS As S ), pyragyrite (3A9 S Sb S ), stepha- Z 3 Z Z 3 nite (5A9 S Sb S ) and native metallic silver. Most lead and copper Z Z 3 ores are argentiferous, though there are important exceptions. Recovery of silver and gold from these ores constitutes an important part of their metallurgical treatment. Silver is also commonly associated in nature with gold. Not only does gold occur with silver in copper and lead ores, but native metallic gold usually contains silver. Gold and silver are mutually soluble in each other in all proportions in the metallic state. Silver is usually found in extremely low concentrations in the aquatic environment, due both to its low crustal abundance and the effectiveness of controls on its mobility in water. In a study of 10 U.S. rivers, Kharkar, et ale (1968) detected silver in concentrations ranging from 0.092 to 0.55 ~g/l. Hem (1970) cites studies of public drinking water supplies and river waters which report median concentrations of 0.23 and 0.09 ~g/l, respec tively. The geochemistry of silver has been extensively reviewed by Boyle (1968) • Sorption and precipitation processes are effective in reducing the con centration of dissolved silver and result in higher concentrations in the bed sediments than in the overlying waters. Sorption by manganese dioxide and precipitation with halides are probably the dominant controls on the mobility of silver in the aquatic environment. Some silver is also bioaccu mulated, and the remainder is transported in solution to the oceans (U.S. EPA, 1979). fI ? REFERENCES Boyle, R.W. 1968. The geochemistry of silver and its deposits. Geol. Sur vey of Canada, Bull. 160, Ottawa, Canada. Goodman, L.S. and A. Gilman (eds.) 1975.