%0 Research Notes %T Usability of peat for monitoring of metal contents in water %A Koski, Tuulikki %A Yliruokanen, Inkeri %D 1980 %J Suo - Mires and peat %V 31 %N 4 %U http://suo.fi/article/9511 %X The feasibility of peat for indicating metal contents of water has been studied at three sewage treatment plants. Sphagnum peat was washed with dilute hydrochloric acid to remove the metals present. Several peat samples were put in effluent water simultaneously for period of one to 34 days. The peat samples were thereafter analysed for Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn, Si, Ti, Ni and Pb by X-ray fluorescence and for Mg, Cu and Cr by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Ash content of the peat increased to 7 ... 14 %. The Ca content increased up to 2,5 % in one or two days. Fe content increased also up to 1—3 %, but the time was longer. Usually all the other elements were at the level of at most some hundred ppm. There was no great difference in the quality of effluent water from the three sewage treatment plants. However, in one case Zn, Ni and Cu contents increased very rapidly pointing to a sudden change in the metal content of the water. According to this it seems that the method could be used as a cheap indicator for sudden changes in metal contents of effluent industrial waste water.