The distribution and speciation of antimony in river water, sediment and biota in Yodo River, Japan

Antimony contamination, consequences and removal techniques: A review

A significant amount of antimony (Sb) enters into the environment every year because of the wide use of Sb compounds in industry and agriculture. The exposure to Sb, either direct consumption of Sb or indirectly, may be fatal to the human health because both antimony and antimonide are toxic. Firstly, the introduction of Sb chemistry, distribution and health threats are presented in this review, which is essential to the removal techniques. Then, we provide the recent and common techniques to remove Sb, including adsorption, coagulation/flocculation, membrane separation, electrochemical methods, ion exchange and extraction. Removal techniques concentrate on the advantages, drawbacks, economical efficiency and the recent achievements of each technique. We also take an overall consideration of experimental conditions, comparison criteria, and economic aspects.

Trophic transfer of arsenic and antimony in a freshwater ecosystem: a field study

The distribution of arsenic and antimony discharges related to a past mining activity in the Bravona River and its tributary, the Presa River, was investigated. We determined levels of arsenic and antimony in the water and the biota (bryophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish), along a pollution gradient. Concentrations of metalloids downstream mining wastes were significantly higher than those in reference station sites. The pattern of accumulation of arsenic in the food chain decreased as follows: macroinvertebrates>bryophytes>water>fish tissues. For antimony, the lowest concentrations were found in water. The accumulation of metals in invertebrate taxa depends on their place in the food chain, their feeding behavior, and their specific habit (lenitophilic/rheophilic species). Concentrations of both metalloids decreased with increasing trophic level.