A Discussion of Water Pollution in the United States and Mexico; with High School Laboratory Activities for the Analysis of Lead, Atrazine, and Nitrate

The nature, occurrence and analysis of water pollutants is interesting chemically and relates well to the interdisciplinary nature of the modern chemistry curriculum. The issue is of worldwide significance and affects both wealthy and poor nations. In the first part of this paper we present an overv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical education 1997-12, Vol.74 (12), p.1413
Main Authors: Kelter, Paul B, Grundman, Julie, Hage, David S, Carr, James D, Castro-Acuña, Carlos Mauricio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atrazine
Chemical Analysis
Chemistry
Environmental Education
Guidelines
Hazardous Materials
Herbicides
High Schools
Lead (Metal)
Lead Poisoning
Metals
Mexico
Nitrates
Organic Chemistry
Pollutants
Public Health
Science education
Science Instruction
Science Laboratories
Spectroscopy
Urban Areas
Water Pollution
Water quality
Water quality standards
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Summary:The nature, occurrence and analysis of water pollutants is interesting chemically and relates well to the interdisciplinary nature of the modern chemistry curriculum. The issue is of worldwide significance and affects both wealthy and poor nations. In the first part of this paper we present an overview of water pollution in the United States and Mexico, including sources, federal regulations and standards, and standard methods for the assessment of overall water quality. The second part of the paper focuses on three water pollutants, lead, atrazine, and nitrate. We chose these as important representative examples of heavy metals, organic herbicides and inorganic pollutants. In addition to a background discussion of each substance and analysis methods for it, we describe laboratory activities that are suitable for the high school audience.
ISSN:0021-9584
1938-1328
DOI:10.1021/ed074p1413