ABSTRACT

This section is a concise guide to useful information about frequently measured inorganic water quality parameters and pollutants, arranged alphabetically. Most of the parameters can have both natural and human origins. Several are more extensively described in Chapter 3. The information is focused chiefly on human health concerns and does not address effects on aquatic life. The EPA gives information about aquatic life effects in their

Gold Book

, EPA 440/5-86-001,

Quality Criteria for Water

. Appendix B in this book tabulates aquatic life water quality criteria. Where CAS identification numbers have been assigned, they are included for each entry. CAS

stands for Chemical Abstracts Service Registry, a division of the American Chemical Society that assigns unique identification numbers to each chemical compound and uses these numbers to facilitate literature and computer database searches for chemical information.