Encl.(1) to COMDTINST 16478.12
Local criteria:
established in literature, by states, etc.
NOAA National Status and Trends studies of biota in selected environments,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Action Level for methyl mercury in
tissue.
RESULTS
Results-Laboratory Studies
Spent batteries from Tampa Bay, Florida and Chattanooga, Tennessee were were
analyzed to determine their total mercury content and concentration in various
components, and the form of mercury in each (elemental, ionic or methyl).
The total mercury content in spent batteries averaged to about three grams
each, and most of it was concentrated in individual battery components. The
component concentrations varied from .006 mg/kg in the plastic casing to 4040
mg/kg in the carbon electrodes. Only elemental mercury was found in aged
batteries (over 1 year in the environment). Newly spent batteries and
batteries that were disposed on land contained traces of ionic mercury.
Mercury dispersal from spent batteries was measured using the EPA protocol
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) 7474 with whole batteries
and their components. Batteries analyzed using TLCP 7471 yielded
concentrations of mercury no greater than 109 g/L. The TCLP maximum allowable
concentration is 200 g/L.
Results-Prototype Site Investigations
Analysis of Air Samples
The mercury remaining in spent primary batteries that are exposed to air can
be released as vapor. Mercury vapor concentrations near batteries were
measured at two terrestrial sites in the Tample Bay area. At both of these
locations, mercury vapor levels were measured over battery piles on the
ground, which consisted of both intact and broken batteries. Mercury vapor
levels were measured using two devices: (1) a photo ionization
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