Document Detail


Towards an impact assessment of bauxite red mud waste on the knowledge of the structure and functions of bathyal ecosystems: The example of the Cassidaigne canyon (north-western Mediterranean Sea).
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19837438     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Since 1967, the alumina plants in the Marseilles area (Barasse and Gardanne) have been discharging the mineral residue (i.e., red mud) resulting from the alkaline processing of bauxite into the submarine Cassidaigne canyon (north-western Mediterranean Sea) through pipes situated at 320-330 m in depth. The Barasse pipe stopped being used in 1988. From 1987 to 1996, many decrees and regulations were promulgated by the French State to rule the conditions under which the Gardanne alumina refinery was authorized to dispose of the bauxite residue in the sea. The refinery was required: (i) to study the hydrodynamic circulation in the Cassidaigne canyon to evaluate the potential dispersion and transport of fine elements discharged into the water mass and their impact on the pelagic ecosystem; (ii) to survey the marine environment every five years to control the expansion and thickness of the red mud deposit and compare the evolution of the benthic macrofauna at representative sampling sites in the environment affected by the red mud discharge with that of reference sites outside of the red mud plume; (iii) to study the effect of the discharge on fishing activities; and (iv) to investigate the toxicity of the red mud, particularly its persistence, accumulation, interaction and effect on the marine ecosystem, paying special attention to the bio-accumulation of chromium and vanadium. A Scientific Committee was created to insure an independent evaluation of the studies promised by the manufacturer in response to the State's regulations. Since the beginning of the 1960s, data have been accumulating on the structure and long-term functioning of the Cassidaigne bathyal ecosystem. This paper presents the collaborative efforts of the State-Manufacturer-Committee triplet and summarizes the main results obtained during the last period's sea campaigns (1991-2007). This paper also illustrates how national regulations concerning manufacturers, such as Gardanne alumina refinery, have provided new knowledge about the structure and functioning of a bathyal ecosystem in the Cassidaigne canyon in the north-western Mediterranean Sea.
Authors:
Jean-Claude Dauvin
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article     Date:  2009-10-17
Journal Detail:
Title:  Marine pollution bulletin     Volume:  60     ISSN:  1879-3363     ISO Abbreviation:  Mar. Pollut. Bull.     Publication Date:  2010 Feb 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-02-17     Completed Date:  2010-05-18     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0260231     Medline TA:  Mar Pollut Bull     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  197-206     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Universit? des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Laboratoire d'Oc?anologie et G?osciences UMR LOG CNRS 8187, Station Marine de Wimereux, BP 80, F-62930 Wimereux, France. jean-claude.dauvin@univ-lille1.fr
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aluminum Oxide*
Animals
Ecosystem*
Environmental Monitoring / legislation & jurisprudence,  methods
Fishes / physiology
Geologic Sediments / chemistry*
Industrial Waste / analysis*,  legislation & jurisprudence
Mediterranean Sea
Risk Assessment
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*,  toxicity
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Industrial Waste; 0/Water Pollutants, Chemical; 1344-28-1/Aluminum Oxide

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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