Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 80, Issue 1-2, Pages 222-233Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.12.048
Keywords
Desalination Discharge; Sodium metabisulphite; Synodus synodus; Cymodocea nodosa; Canary Islands
Funding
- Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs [021/SGTB/2007/1.3]
- Science National Plan of the Ministry of Science and Innovation [CTM2009-08413MAR]
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Reverse osmosis membranes at many desalination plants are disinfected by periodic shock treatments with sodium metabisulphite, which have potentially toxic effects to the environment for marine life, although no empirical and experimental evidence for this is yet available. The aim of this study was to characterise for the first time, the physico-chemical modification of the marine environment and its biological effects, caused by hypersaline plumes during these membrane cleaning treatments. The case study was the Maspalomas II desalination plant, located in the south of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). Toxicity bioassays were performed on marine species characteristic for the infralittoral soft bottoms influenced by the brine plume (Synodus synodus and Cymodocea nodosa), and revealed a high sensitivity to short-term exposure to low sodium metabisulphite concentrations. The corrective measure of incorporating a diffusion system with Venturi Eductors reduced nearly all the areas of influence, virtually eliminating the impact of the disinfectant. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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