Detailed Study of Selenium in Soil, Representative Plants, Water, BottomSediment, and Biota in the Kendrick Reclamation Project Area, Wyoming, 1988-90

摘要

In response to increasing concern about the quality of irrigation drainage andits potential effects on fish, wildlife, and human health, the U.S. Department of the Interior formed an interbureau group to address related water-quality problems. The Kendrick Reclamation Project area (Kendrick area) was one of nine areas in the western United States that were assigned the highest priority for investigation. The magnitude, effects, and exposure pathways of selenium associated with irrigation drainage are summarized in the report. Trace elements and constituents other than selenium were evaluated but generally were not at concentrations considered harmful to wildlife or humans. A geochemical survey of the rangeland to assess the importance of geological formations as a selenium source was done. In a separate survey of the irrigated land, significant differences in concentrations of total selenium were detected in soil samples collected from the fields sampled, but only 2 of the approximately 200 soil samples contained selenium concentrations larger than the baseline.