Book Description

Summarises research conducted to determine how the impacts of effluents produced by pulp mills and sewage plants in northern Alberta interact to potentially produce a variety of effects on downstream aquatic biota. The investigators carried out experiments in artificial streams using pulp mill and sewage effluent from a kraft mill on the Athabasca River near Hinton, Alberta. Using a 2x2 factorial design, mayflies were exposed to either low or high levels of effluent concentration, levels typical of what benthic invertebrates are likely to experience in some benthic microhabitats downstream of Hinton during the winter. Results of the two-week experiment are presented, including degree of mayfly survival for each of the effluent treatments.