Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Summary
Includes: Removal of metals from waste waters by municipal sewage treatment plants (by John G. Konrad and Stanton J. Kleinert) and Concentation of metals in fish (by Stanton J. Kleinert, Paul E. Degurse, and J. Ruhland).
Removal of metals from waste waters by municipal sewage treatment plants. The Department of Natural Resources conducted a questionnaire survey of Wisconsin industries utilizing and/or consuming metals in 1971 and a field survey of municipal sewage treatment plants for metal content in 1972. Metals included in the survey were arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc. The southeastern corner of Wisconsin acounted for more than 65 percent (440,998 pounds) of the total metals use reported for the state. In general, high concentrations of metals in sewage treatment plants were associated with areas of high metal use and the average metal removal efficiency for all plants investigated was approximately 50 percent concentration of metals in fish. Concentrations of metals found in fillets of fish sampled from Wisconsin waters were less than 0.05 ppm for cadmium, 0 to 0.42 ppm for chromium, 2.7 to 18.3 for zinc, 0 to 4.31 for lead and 0 to 0.35 for arsenic. Based upon the fish tested in this survey, we do not believe these metals are present in sufficient amounts to create any hazards to consumers.