Arc flash study and remediation project in a pulp and paper mill

Abstract Pulp and paper mill effluents have been reported to cause changes in reproductive indicators of fish in laboratory and field studies. These changes include reduced egg production and gonad size, and altered hormone levels and expression of secondary sex characteristics. We examined the performance of biotreatment plants for their potential in abating effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on fish reproduction under laboratory conditions. A bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) treated in an aerated lagoon and a thermomechanical pulp mill effluent (TMPE) treated by aerobic sludge in a sequential batch reactor were selected for study. Mature fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to effluents before and after biotreatment under continuous renewal conditions for 21 days. Egg production was monitored daily, while morphometric parameters (length, weight, gonad size), secondary sexual characteristics, and steroid hormone and vitellogenin levels were measured at the end of the effluent exposure. The effluent from both mills before biotreatment impaired the reproductive capacity of minnows (egg production) at concentrations of 10 and 20% vol/vol, but not at 2% vol/vol. Exposure to biotreated effluents from both mills at concentrations of 2, 10, 20, and 40% vol/vol caused no significant differences in overall reproductive capacity of minnows as compared with controls. These results indicate that biotreatment can significantly improve the quality of a BKME and an effluent from a TMP mill with respect to the reproductive capacity of fish as determined in laboratory tests.

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Public Evaluation of Fish Tainting from Pulp and Paper Mill Discharges

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1992.0035 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 57-64

Author(s):

C. G. Jardine

Keyword(s):

Yellow Perch ◽

Action Plan ◽

Pulp Mill ◽

Paper Mill ◽

Pulp And Paper ◽

Salmo Gairdneri ◽

Pulp And Paper Mill ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Public Advisory ◽

St Lawrence River

As part of the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) programs for the St. Lawrence and Spanish Rivers in Ontario, Canada, tainting evaluations were conducted using members of the Public Advisory Committees (PACs) and the RAP teams. Triangle test sensory evaluations were conducted on caged rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) exposed insitu upstream and downstream of the pulp and paper mill diffuser outfalls In the St. Lawrence River only, evaluations were conducted on indigenous yellow perch (Perca flavescens) caught upstream and downstream of the mill discharge . In both locations, the odour of the flesh from the caged trout exposed above the diffuser outfall was not judged significantly different from caged trout exposed downstream of the discharge. However, the indigenous perch caught downstream of the mill in the St. Lawrence River were judged by the panelists to have a significantly more objectionable odour than those caught upstream of the discharge. While the effluent tainting potential appears to have been eliminated in the Spanish River, further studies are required to determine the source and magnitude of tainting concerns in the St. Lawrence River. The sensory test and results reported here provide useful tools for evaluating the tainting potential of pulp mill discharges and for assessing perceived consumer quality of the fish exposed to these effluents.

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Mutagenicity in Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents and in Recipient

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1988.0054 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 143-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. Langi ◽

M. Priha

Keyword(s):

Activated Sludge ◽

Mutagenic Activity ◽

Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells ◽

Chinese Hamster ◽

Paper Mill ◽

Pulp And Paper ◽

Pulp And Paper Mill ◽

Sludge Treatment ◽

Paper Mill Effluents ◽

Kraft Mill

The mutagenic properties of pulp and paper mill effluents were studied in three mills: bleached kraft mill with aerated lagoon treatment (Mill 1), bleached kraft mill with activated sludge treatment (Mill 2) and mechanical pulp/paper mill (Mill 3). Both treated and untreated effluents, process streams and molecular fractions were tested for mutagenicity (Ames test. Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and SCE sister chromatid exchange test, Chinese hamster ovary cells). To verify the potential environmental effects the mutagenic activity of concentrated recipient lake water (Mill 2) was also studied. The Ames mutagenicity of the bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) originated from the first chlorination filtrate, SCE mutagenicity also occurred in the alkali extraction stage filtrate (Mill 1). No Ames mutagenicity was detected in the paper mill effluent, but it was SCE mutagenic. Activated sludge treatment of BKME removed both Ames and SCE mutagenicity, but the aerated lagoon treated BKME was still SCE mutagenic. No mutagenic activity was detected in the recipient water concentrates.

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Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents on Reproduction, Bile Conjugates and Liver MFO (Mixed Function Oxygenase) Activity in Fish at Southern Lake Saimaa, Finland

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1999.0701 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 40 (11-12) ◽

pp. 109-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Aarno Karels ◽

Markus Soimasuo ◽

Aimo Oikari

Keyword(s):

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽

Paper Mill ◽

Erod Activity ◽

Pulp And Paper ◽

Coregonus Lavaretus ◽

Pulp And Paper Mill ◽

Paper Mill Effluents ◽

Mixed Function Oxygenase ◽

Estradiol 17Β ◽

Lake Saimaa

Reproductive indices like gonad size, fecundity, egg size and sex steroid levels of estradiol-17β and testosterone, vitellogenin in the blood as well as bile conjugates and liver 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity were studied in populations of perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) and experimentally exposed juvenile whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L. s.l.) at the Southern Lake Saimaa (S.E. Finland). Our studies showed that the introduction of elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching and secondary treatment of effluents in a modern activated sludge plant at the mill in 1992 have substantially reduced the exposure of feral and caged fish to organochlorines. The liver EROD activity was noticeably lower in feral and caged fish near the mill indicating lesser impacts on the liver mixed function oxygenase (MFO) system. However, at the mill site, liver EROD activies in feral and caged fish still tend to be one to four times higher than at the reference sites. Significantly decreased plasma estradiol-17β and testosterone concentrations in perch and roach in the period of development of the gonads (autumn and winter) indicate that there were endocrine disrupting compounds present in the lake receiving ECF pulp and paper mill effluents. Cause-effect relationships, however, are difficult to establish.

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