Reply to ASK-AN-EARTH-SCIENTIST

Subject: Sources of Water Pollution

a)What are the sources of water pollution?
b)What are the effects of water pollution?
c)What are the ways we can take to decrease those problem?
a)What are the sources of water pollution?
There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories
exist: direct and indirect contaminant sources.
Direct sources include effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, waste
treatment plants etc.. that emit fluids of varying quality directly into urban
water supplies. In the United States and other countries, these practices are
regulated, although this doesn't mean that pollutants can't be found in these
waters.
Indirect sources include contaminants that enter the water supply from
soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via rain water. Soils and
groundwaters contain the residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers,
pesticides, etc..) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. Atmospheric
contaminants are also derived from human practices (such as gaseous
emissions from automobiles, factories and even bakeries).
Contaminants can be broadly classified into organic, inorganic, radioactive
and acid/base. Examples from each class and their potential sources are too
numerous to discuss here.
b)What are the effects of water pollution?
The effects of water pollution are varied. They include poisonous drinking
water, poisionous food animals (due to these organisms having
bioaccumulated toxins from the environment over their life spans),
unbalanced river and lake ecosystems that can no longer support full
biological diversity, deforestation from acid rain, and many other effects.
These effects are, of course, specific to the various contaminants.
c)What are the ways we can take to decrease those problem?
Science provides many practical solutions to minimizing the present level
at which pollutants are introduced into the environment and for remediating
(cleaning up) past problems. All of these solutions come with some cost
(both societal and monetary). In our everyday lives, a great deal can be done
to minimize pollution if we take care to recycle materials whose production
creates pollution and if we act responsibly with household chemicals and

their disposal. Additionally, there are choices we make each day that also
can affect the quantity of pollutants our actions will introduce into the
environment. Heavily packaged foods, for instance, contain boxes, cartons,
bottles etc.. made with polluting dyes, many of which are released from
groundwater at municipal land fills. Whether we choose to drive to the
corner store rather than walk or ride a bicycle will determine how much we
personally contribute to acid and hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere
(and ultimately to global fresh water supplies).
In the end, there are many choices on the personal and societal level that
we must make (consciously or not) that affect the amount of pollution our
town or country will be forced to live with. Our standard of living and very
way of life is based upon practices which are inherently "dirtier" than those
of our distant ancestors, although they too polluted their environment to
some extent. Without taking a step backward in terms of our standards of
living, the answer seems to lie in a combination of many small changes in
our daily practices and paying more for goods and services, so that
manufacturers of various materials and drivers of automobiles (for instance)
will have cleaner devices with which to conduct their activities.
Potassium cyanide
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Potassium cyanide

CAS number
EC number
UN number
RTECS number
Molecular formula
Molar mass
Appearance
Density
Melting point
Boiling point

IUPAC name[hide]
Potassium cyanide
Identifiers
151-50-8
205-792-3
1680
TS8750000
Properties
KCN
65.12 g/mol
White crystalline solid
deliquescent
1.52 g/cm3
634.5 C

1625 C
71.6 g/100 ml (25 C)
Solubility in water
100 g/100 mL (100 C)
Solubility in methanol 4.9 g/100 mL (20 C)
Solubility in glycerol soluble
Thermochemistry
Std enthalpy of
131.5 kJ/mol
formation fHo298
Standard molar
127.8 JK1mol1
entropy So298
Hazards
MSDS
ICSC 0671
EU Index
006-007-00-5
Very toxic (T+)
EU classification
Dangerous for the environment (N)
R-phrases
R26/27/28, R32, R50/53
S-phrases
(S1/2), S7, S28, S29, S45, S60, S61

NFPA 704

0
4
0

Flash point

Non-flammable
510 mg/kg (oral in rats, mice,
LD50
rabbits)[1]
Related compounds
Potassium cyanate
Other anions
Potassium thiocyanate
Other cations
Sodium cyanide
Related compounds
Hydrogen cyanide
(what is this?) (verify)
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in
their standard state (at 25 C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless
crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most
KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications
include jewelry for chemical gilding and buffing.[2]
KCN is highly toxic. The moist solid emits small amounts of hydrogen cyanide due to
hydrolysis, which smells like bitter almonds. Not everyone, however, can smell this odor:
the ability to do so is a genetic trait.[3] It is used by entomologists as a killing agent in
collecting jars, as most insects succumb within seconds, minimizing damage of even
highly fragile specimens.

Contents
[hide]

1 Production
2 Structure
3 Applications
4 Toxicity
5 References

6 External links

[edit] Production
KCN is produced by treating hydrogen cyanide with potassium hydroxide,

HCN + KOH KCN + H2O

or by treating formamide with potassium hydroxide:
HCONH2 + KOH KCN + 2H2O
Approximately 50,000 tons are produced yearly.[2]

[edit] Structure
In aqueous solution, KCN is dissociated into hydrated K+ ions and CN. As a solid, the
salt crystallizes such that the cations and anions organize like Na+ and Cl in NaCl. The
cations and anions six-coordinate. Each K+ is linked to two pi-bonds of the CN as well
as two links each to C and N each. Since CN is diatomic, the symmetry of the solid is
lower than that in NaCl. The cyanide anions form sheets. The CN ions rapidly rotate in
the solid at ambient temperature such that the time averaged shape of the CN ions is
spherical.[4]

[edit] Applications
See also: Sodium cyanide
In gold mining, KCN and NaCN form water-soluble salts from gold metal in the presence
of air:
4 Au + 8 KCN + O2 + 2 H2O 4 K[Au(CN)2] + 4 KOH
Very few alternative methods exist for this extraction process.[citation needed]
KCN and the related NaCN are widely used in organic synthesis for the preparation of
nitriles and carboxylic acids; illustrative in the von Richter reaction.

[edit] Toxicity
Main article: Cyanide poisoning
KCN can be detoxified most efficiently with hydrogen peroxide:[2]: KCN + H2O2
KOCN + H2O
Cyanide is a potent inhibitor of cellular respiration, acting on mitochondrial cytochrome c
oxidase and hence blocking oxidative phosphorylation. This prevents the body from
oxidizing food to produce useful energy. Lactic acidosis then occurs as a consequence of
anaerobic metabolism. Initially, acute cyanide poisoning causes a red or ruddy
complexion in the victim because the tissues are not able to use the oxygen in the blood.
The effects of potassium and sodium cyanide are identical. The person may die within 45
minutes if not treated medically. During this period, convulsions may occur. Death occurs
mainly by cardiac arrest.

A number of prominent persons were killed or committed suicide using potassium

cyanide, including members of the Black Hand Gang (unsuccessfully) and members of
the Nazi Party, such as Hermann Gring and Heinrich Himmler, WWII era British agents
(using purpose-made suicide pills), and various religious cults such as in Jonestown.
Potassium cyanide (and other forms of cyanide) is a popular method of murder in fiction,
especially in the books written by Agatha Christie.

[edit] References
1. ^ Bernard Martel. Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Kogan, 2004,
page 361. ISBN 1903996651.
2. ^ a b c Andreas Rubo, Raf Kellens, Jay Reddy, Joshua Wooten, Wolfgang
Hasenpusch "Alkali Metal Cyanides" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial
Chemistry 2006 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany.
doi:10.1002/14356007.i01_i01
3. ^ Online 'Mendelian Inheritance in Man' (OMIM) 304300
4. ^ H. T. Stokes, D. L. Decker, H. M. Nelson, J. D. Jorgensen (1993). "Structure of
potassium cyanide at low temperature and high pressure determined by neutron
diffraction". Physical Review B 47 (17): 1108211092.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.47.11082..