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Monitoring chlorine residual and trihalomethanes in the chlorinated seawater effluent of a nuclear power plant

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Abstract

Periodic sampling of the discharged seawater effluent from Madras Atomic Power Station (Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India) was carried out during 2013–2017 to assess the residual chlorine and trihalomethanes content in the outfall discharge water. The variations in dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH were correlated with the residual chlorine and trihalomethanes content in the discharged effluent. The difference in temperature (ΔT) between influent and effluent seawater samples ranged from 1.95 to 11.0 °C (6.47 ± 1.87). More than 95% of the ΔT values were within the guideline value of 7 °C. The discharge water was associated with a marginal reduction in dissolved oxygen and a marginal increase in conductivity values. The total residual chlorine content in the discharged seawater at outfall ranged from 0.06 to 0.42 (0.16 ± 0.08) mg/L, which was within the stipulated values of 0.5 mg/L. Trihalomethanes values ranged from 0.04 to 65.03 (13.06 ± 14.38) μg/L. In addition to bromoform as the major constituent, occurrence of significant amount chloroform of was occasionally observed in the discharge water.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Director, SQRMG, IGCAR, and Director, IGCAR, Kalpakkam for their constant inspiration and support in the pursuit of environmental research.

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  1. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, 603 102, India

    R. K. Padhi & K. K. Satpathy

  2. Safety Quality & Resource Management Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, 603 102, India

    R. K. Padhi, Suja Subramanian, A. K. Mohanty & K. K. Satpathy

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Padhi, R.K., Subramanian, S., Mohanty, A.K. et al. Monitoring chlorine residual and trihalomethanes in the chlorinated seawater effluent of a nuclear power plant. Environ Monit Assess 191, 471 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7611-0

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