Abstract
Speciation of copper in marine systems strongly influences the ability of copper to cause toxicity. Natural organic matter (NOM) contains many binding sites which provides a protective effect on copper toxicity. The purpose of this study was to characterize copper binding with NOM using fluorescence quenching techniques. Fluorescence quenching of NOM with copper was performed on nine sea water samples. The resulting stability constants and binding capacities were consistent with literature values of marine NOM, showing strong binding with \(\log K\) values from 7.64 to 10.2 and binding capacities ranging from 15 to 3110 nmol mg \({\text {C}}^{-1}.\) Free copper concentrations estimated at total dissolved copper concentrations corresponding to previously published rotifer effect concentrations, in the same nine samples, were statistically the same as the range of free copper calculated for the effect concentration in NOM-free artificial seawater. These data confirms the applicability of fluorescence spectroscopy techniques for NOM and copper speciation characterization in sea water and demonstrates that such measured speciation is consistent with the chemical principles underlying the biotic ligand model approach for bioavailability-based metals risk assessment.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by an NSERC CRD Grant (Scott Smith, P.I.) with co-funding from the International Zinc Association (IZA), the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO), the Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association (NiPERA), the International Copper Association (ICA), the Copper Development Association (CDA), Teck Resources, and Vale.
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Tait, T.N., McGeer, J.C. & Smith, D.S. Testing the Underlying Chemical Principles of the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) to Marine Copper Systems: Measuring Copper Speciation Using Fluorescence Quenching. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 100, 76–81 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2262-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2262-8