Bor – indikátor antropogenního znečištění vod
Klíčová slova:
bor, povrchové vody, antropogenní znečištění, limitní hodnoty pro pitnou voduAbstrakt
Satisfactory quality of drinking water is one of the basic requirements of modern society. It is important to identify the water source contaminants that may represent a relevant indicator of anthropogenic pollution. One of such contaminants may be boron. At higher concentrations, it is known to have a negative effect on human health and generally has a toxic effect on the aquatic environment. Higher concentrations of boron in surface waters are predominantly of anthropogenic origin. Concentrations above 0.5 mg L–1 may indicate anthropogenic water pollution. Anthropogenic sources of boron compounds are mainly municipal waste water (boron comes mainly from perborates used as bleaching components of detergents), industrial waste water and soil washes (boron is a part of some agricultural fertilizers). Boron concentrations were monitored at two localities of surface water and determined using Azomethin-H. The results obtained did not exceed the limit value (0.5 mg L–1). It was shown that higher boron concentrations in surface waters were of anthropogenic origin from municipal waste water and were accompanied by higher concentrations of the nitrate, ammonium, and chloride ions.