Arsenic, selenium, and antimony: from coal fired power plants to the Chattahoochee River

Proceedings of the 2003 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held April 23-24, 2003, at the University of Georgia.Dissolved arsenic (As), selenium (Se), and antimony (Sb) fluxes in rivers below ash ponds of coal fired power plants (CFPP) are of magnitude above natural levels. We have estimated the release of As, Se, and Sb from CFPPs to rivers to be 0.73 mg, 0.30 mg, and 0.15 mg respectively per kilogram of coal combusted. Mass balance calculations have revealed that the main sink of metalloids in contaminated rivers is biological removal. Comparison of our release estimates to EPA Toxic Release Inventory estimates suggests that the modeling estimates of metalloid release from CFPPs are too low