A national picture for river aluminium levels in England and Wales has been revealed by researchers at Lancaster University and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, UK. Aluminium can have toxic effects in rivers particularly in the Al3+ form and 54 river sites in rural, agricultural and urban locations were involved in the study.
The work by Paul Scholefield and colleagues showed, for example, that for mid Wales there are limited declines in aluminium following acidification recovery, and unexpected variations for organic and colloidal aluminium. Among other findings the study has highlighted the need for further investigation of the hydrogeochemical ecotoxicological relevance of colloidal aluminium.
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Aluminium in UK rivers: a need for integrated research related to kinetic factors, colloidal transport, carbon and habitat
Colin Neal, Philip Rowland, Margaret Neal, Helen P. Jarvie, Alan Lawlor, Darren Sleep and Paul Scholefield
J. Environ. Monit., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1EM10362H, Paper
