Member Pipeline - Regulatory - Alert (RA 02-19)
To: Members & Affiliates, Water Quality Committee
From: National Office
Date: September 18, 2002
Subject: SETAC Publication on Silver in the Environment Available from National Office
Reference: RA 02-19
Printer friendly versionAMSA is excited to announce the availability of a new report detailing the results of over ten years of research into the behavior of silver in the environment. The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) report entitled Silver in the Environment: Transport, Fate, and Effects, was released this summer and AMSA has obtained a number of complimentary copies. This report is a must read for any wastewater treatment agencies dealing with silver issues and may shed light on issues surrounding other metals as well.
The new report summarizes the research of over 120 scientists from three continents on the behavior of silver in the environment. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, researchers found several curious anomalies. First, lab tests showed silver to be a particularly acute toxin to fish and other aquatic life, but tests in natural environments yielded little or no deleterious effects. Secondly, analyses of background levels of silver in natural bodies of water varied widely in available research and among different laboratories. It was suspected that the various species of silver were complicating the analyses and causing the anomalies. Complexed or tightly bound forms of silver, found most often in nature, were determined to be orders of magnitude less acutely toxic than ionic silver (historically used in laboratory toxicological investigations). Silver nitrate, the ideal form of silver for laboratory analyses because of its high water solubility and ease of administering to organisms, is rarely, if ever, found in nature. Clearly, the toxicity and behavior of ionic silver in the laboratory may not be an accurate predictor of silver’s impact on the environment.
Formal scientific investigations of these anomalies were begun in 1988. Led by the University of Wisconsin and the Eastman Kodak Company, the research has revealed new information shedding light on the behavior of silver in the environment, as well as the behavior of other metals. The research results were reported in a series of conferences and meetings between 1993 to 2000, labeled the Argentum conferences. This new report is the culmination of the Argentum conferences, and summarizes the information presented at these forums. Norm LeBlanc, Chief of Technical Services for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and Chair of AMSA’s Water Quality Committee, played a key role in producing this report.
The publication is available from the National Office FREE of charge to AMSA members by simply filling out the online form below and submitting it. Alternatively, you can request a copy by faxing a completed copy of this FaxBack form to the National Office at 202/833-4657. If you have any questions please call Will Pettit at 202/833-3280.