Fate and Transport of Metam Spill in Sacramento River
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 123, Issue 7
Abstract
A mass balance model was developed and applied to the Sacramento River in northern California during the July 1991 Sacramento River metam-sodium spill. The transport and reactions of metam-sodium, a soil fumigant, and the volatile and toxic methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) were simulated during the two-and-a-half days of movement along a 68-km stretch of river. Results from modeling were compared with field data for MITC, which is the only product measured downriver after the spill. Agreement between the simulated and measured values of MITC concentrations were found at Doney Creek (65.9 km downstream). Results illuminated the complexities and unique characteristics associated with the multiple kinetic processes of the chemical plume in the river. In particular, the photolysis of metam-sodium followed zero-order kinetics for high concentrations and first-order kinetics for low concentrations, a unique phenomenon consistent with the finding reported in a laboratory study. Concentrations of metam-sodium for transition from zeroto first-order, obtained by calibration and model sensitivity analyses, were in the same range as those in the reported laboratory results.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Ambrose, R. B., Wool, T. A., Martin, J. L., Connolly, J. P., and Schanz, R. W. (1992). WASP4, a hydrodynamic and water quality model—model theory, user's manual, and programmer's guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, Ga.
2.
California Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). (1992). Evaluation of the health risks associated with the MS spill in the upper Sacramento River. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Branch, Berkeley, Calif.
3.
Capel, P., Giger, W., Reichert, P., and Wanner, O.(1988). “Accidental input of insecticides into the Rhine River.”Envir. Sci. and Technol., 22, 992–997.
4.
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). (1991). Final water sampling report, Southern Pacific-Cantara spill, Redding, Calif.
5.
Draper, W. M., and Wakeman, D. E.(1993). “Rate constants for MS cleavage and photodecomposition in water.”J. Agric. and Food Chem., 41, 1129–1133.
6.
Gu, R., McCutcheon, S., and Wang, P. F.(1996). “Reservoir density underflow and interflow from a chemical spill.”Water Resour. Res., 32(3), 697–707.
7.
Joris, S. J., Aspila, K. I., and Charkrabarti, C. L.(1970). “Decomposition of monoalkyl dithiocarbamates.”Can. J. Chemical Anal. and Chem., 42, 647–651.
8.
Liefer, A. (1988). The kinetics of environmental aquatic photochemistry. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
9.
Liss, P. S., and Slater, P. G.(1974). “Flux of gases across the air-sea interface.”Nature, London, U.K., 247, 181–184.
10.
O'Connor, D. J.(1983). “Wind effects on gas-liquid transfer coefficients.”J. Envir. Engrg., ASCE, 109(9), 731–752.
11.
Turner, N. J., and Corden, M. E.(1963). “Decomposition of sodium N-methyl dithiocarbamate in soil.”Photopathology, 53, 1388–1394.
12.
Zepp, R. G., and Cline, D. M.(1977). “Rates of direct photolysis in aqueous solution.”Envir. Sci. and Technol., 11, 359–366.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 123 • Issue 7 • July 1997
Pages: 704 - 712
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1997
Published in print: Jul 1997
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.