Zn, Zn2+
dissolved zinc as Zn2+, particulate zinc
Zinc is an important dietary element, but concentrations above 5 mg/L can impart an unpleasant taste to water.[i] Exposure to large amounts of zinc can cause stomach cramps and anemia, and also decrease good cholesterol.[ii]
In marine waters, aquatic species suffer acute effects from zinc at 90 μg/L. Adverse effects of dissolved zinc, including altered behavior, blood and serum chemistry, impaired reproduction, and reduced growth, occur to salmon at very low levels (5.6 μg/L in freshwater).[iii] In mammals, ingesting large amounts of zinc can cause infertility and underweight offspring.[iv]
Freshwater – Aquatic Organisms (Dissolved Concentration*)
Saltwater– Aquatic Organisms (Dissolved Concentration*)
Human Health for the consumption of
Acute (µg/L)
Chronic (µg/L)
Water + Organism (µg/L)
Organism Only (µg/L)
120
90
81
7,400
26,000
*Based on hardness value of 100mg/L. Criteria vary with the hardness of the receiving water body.[v]
Zinc is a bluish-white shiny metal that is typically extracted from ore deep within the earth’s crust.[vi] Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the earth’s crust. In soil, the average zinc concentrations is 64 ppm.[vii] Zinc alloys such as brass have been used since 4500 BC, but not until the 1400s in India did metallic zinc come into production.[viii] [ix]
Today zinc is mainly used as a protectant from corrosion or oxidation. Approximately one-third of metallic zinc is used in galvanizing, a process used to coat steel products for weather resistance.[x] Zinc oxide is also another common compound used as a protectant. Zinc oxide is found in rubber, tires, photocopy paper, paints, enamels, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Zinc is also commonly used as an electrolyte for batteries.
The United States is the fifth largest zinc producer in the world today creating nine percent of global production.[xi] Nearly 50% of domestic zinc production is done in Alaska with 47% of the remaining zinc production done in Missouri and Tennessee.[xii] Underground mines are predominantly used for zinc mining. [xiii]
Zinc is often found in the water supply as a dissolve constituent since zinc compounds are highly soluble in water.[xiv] One example is rainwater picking up zinc when coming into contact with galvanized surfaces. Galvanized roofs are a common source of zinc in stormwater. Zinc is also released to the environment through tire wear. Tire tread material contains approximately 1% zinc by weight.[xv] PRODUCTS Aquip The StormwateRx Aquip® industrial filtration system uses an innovative enhanced sand filtration process to effectively remove zinc and other metals as well as oils, suspended solids, organics and nutrients from industrial stormwater runoff. Purus The Purus™ Stormwater Polishing System (previously known as the AquiPlus) provides the most advanced level of stormwater treatment, and is designed for challenging stormwater conditions or targeted pollutant removal. Purus reduces dissolved zinc and other metals to the parts per billion (ppb) range as well as eliminating bacteria such as E. coli and reducing turbidity to single digit NTU standards. CASE STUDIES Calbag Metals Calbag Metals Co. is a 4-acre non-ferrous metal recycling facility located in Portland Oregon. The metal recycling facility installed the Aquip system from StormwateRx and achieved excellent results in removing copper and zinc to meet the site's stormwater permit requirements. Emerald Galvanizing The galvanizing facility at Emerald Galvanizing had been struggling to meet the action level benchmarks set in place by the facility's Washington Industrial Stormwater General Permit. Though similar to other galvanizers, the zinc benchmark was the most difficult to achieve. Eager to find a solution that would get their stormwater to the benchmarks, Emerald Galvanizing sought the assistance of StormwateRx and installed the AquiPlus system. Seaview Boatyard Seaview Boatyard operates four full service boatyards in Washington State's Puget Sound area, offering boat repair and maintenance services for recreational boaters, commercial fisherman and the yachting community. After installing StormwateRx Aquip systems at their facilities to remove known boatyard pollutants such as copper, zinc, and total suspended solids (TSS), Seaview Boatyard was able to reduce pollutants in their stormwater by up to 99%, thus, keeping to their belief in safeguarding the environment for future generations' use. JT Marine JT Marine, Inc. of Battleground, WA installed a portable, self-contained Aquip® 50SBI filtration system for pre-treatment of hydroblast water, washwater and industrial stormwater to remove zinc and other metals and suspended solids. The Aquip filtration system was able to remove zinc to a level of 92% removal efficiency.
Aquip The StormwateRx Aquip® industrial filtration system uses an innovative enhanced sand filtration process to effectively remove zinc and other metals as well as oils, suspended solids, organics and nutrients from industrial stormwater runoff.
Purus The Purus™ Stormwater Polishing System (previously known as the AquiPlus) provides the most advanced level of stormwater treatment, and is designed for challenging stormwater conditions or targeted pollutant removal. Purus reduces dissolved zinc and other metals to the parts per billion (ppb) range as well as eliminating bacteria such as E. coli and reducing turbidity to single digit NTU standards.
Calbag Metals Calbag Metals Co. is a 4-acre non-ferrous metal recycling facility located in Portland Oregon. The metal recycling facility installed the Aquip system from StormwateRx and achieved excellent results in removing copper and zinc to meet the site's stormwater permit requirements.
Emerald Galvanizing The galvanizing facility at Emerald Galvanizing had been struggling to meet the action level benchmarks set in place by the facility's Washington Industrial Stormwater General Permit. Though similar to other galvanizers, the zinc benchmark was the most difficult to achieve. Eager to find a solution that would get their stormwater to the benchmarks, Emerald Galvanizing sought the assistance of StormwateRx and installed the AquiPlus system.
Seaview Boatyard Seaview Boatyard operates four full service boatyards in Washington State's Puget Sound area, offering boat repair and maintenance services for recreational boaters, commercial fisherman and the yachting community. After installing StormwateRx Aquip systems at their facilities to remove known boatyard pollutants such as copper, zinc, and total suspended solids (TSS), Seaview Boatyard was able to reduce pollutants in their stormwater by up to 99%, thus, keeping to their belief in safeguarding the environment for future generations' use.
JT Marine JT Marine, Inc. of Battleground, WA installed a portable, self-contained Aquip® 50SBI filtration system for pre-treatment of hydroblast water, washwater and industrial stormwater to remove zinc and other metals and suspended solids. The Aquip filtration system was able to remove zinc to a level of 92% removal efficiency.
[i] U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Regulations: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals, http://www.epa.gov/safewater/consumer/2ndstandards.html (last visited Aug. 5, 2010).
[ii] Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, ToxFAQs for Zinc, (Aug. 2005) available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts60.html.
[iii] J. B. Sprague, Avoidance reactions of rainbow trout to zinc sulphate solutions, 2 Water Research 367-372 (1968).
[iv] Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, supra.
[v] U.S. EPA, National Recommended Water Quality Criteria, http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/wqctable/index.html#U (last visited July 7, 2010).
[vi] Dept. of Env’t, Water, Heritage, and Arts, National Pollutant Inventory: zinc and compounds. http://www.npi.gov.au/substances/zinc/index.html (last visited Aug. 5, 2010).
[vii] John Emsley, Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements, 499-505 (2001)
[viii] Marianne Stanczak , A Brief History of Copper, CSA, Oct. 2005, http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/copper/overview.php.
[ix] MBendi Information Services, Zinc and lead mining in North America – overview, http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/ldzc/am/p0005.htm (last visited July 7, 2010).
[x] MBendi Information Services, supra.
[xi] MBendi Information Services, supra.
[xii] MBendi Information Services, supra.
[xiii] Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, General information of zinc, http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/Zinc-information.html (last visited Aug. 5, 2010).
[xiv] Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, It’s elemental: the element zinc http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele030.html (last visited Aug. 5, 2010).
[xv] T. B. Councell, et al., Tire-wear particles as a source of zinc to the environment, 38 Envtl Sci. Tech. 4206–4214 (2004).