Abstract
In this project, water near factories in Rubbertown, Louisville, KY were tested to see if a significant enough amount of waste is deposited in the Ohio River that the concentrations of Pb2+ and Cu2+ exceed the maximum contaminant levels the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have set in place. Waste from industrial factories may contain contaminants that have negative effects on aquatic ecosystems and even human health, so two potentially harmful metal ions were tested. The concentration of Cu2+ in water samples was detected through flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), and the concentration of trace Pb2+ was measured through square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV) and FAAS. It was hypothesized that the samples near Rubbertown would have a higher concentration than the Upstream sample for both ions, but only Pb2+ had a higher concentration, and the Cu2+ levels were very similar across all three samples. Through FAAS, the Cu2+ concentration was 9.00 ± 0.59 ppb for Upstream, 10.02 ± 0.04 ppb for Rubbertown 1, and 7.32 ± 0.04 ppb for Rubbertown 2; the Pb2+ concentration was 36.42 ± 0.04 ppb for Upstream, 65.20 ± 0.07 ppb for Rubbertown 1, and 61.73 ± 0.09 ppb for Rubbertown 2. Through SWSV, Pb2+ concentration was 27.7 ± 1.8 ppb for Upstream, 67.0 ± 19.2 ppb for Rubbertown 1, and 67.5 ± 35.0 ppb for Rubbertown 2. The two Rubbertown samples have an unsafe amount of Pb, but the water would likely be safe through water filtration.
Recommended Citation
Purcell, Eliana
(2025)
"Determination of Trace Amounts of Pb2+ and Cu2+ ions in the Ohio River with Anodic Stripping Voltammetry and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy to Test Water Contamination from Factories.,"
The Cardinal Edge: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/tce/vol3/iss1/10