Cyanide in Water and Soil: Chemistry, Risk, and Management

The presence of cyanide is a significant issue in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment and management, in remediation of former manufactured gas plant sites and aluminum production waste disposal sites, in treatment and management of residuals from hydrometallurgical gold mining, and in other industrial operations in which cyanide-bearing wastes were produced. The complexity of the chemistry and toxicology of cyanide and the risk it poses in different environmental contexts make its management and remediation extremely challenging. Cyanide in Water and Soil is the first book to present the state-of-the-art in managing cyanide across a wide range of industrial and environmental contexts.

The book brings together current knowledge and information about cyanide release to and behavior in the environment, and explores how to control or remediate these releases. No other broad-based examination of this topic exists. Exploring the anthropogenic and natural sources of cyanide in the environment, the authors address the full range of issues pertaining to cyanide fate, transport, treatment, and toxicity in water and soil as well as approaches currently used in risk assessment and management. They have developed a careful balance of depth and scope of coverage, providing current references that help readers learn more about topics of particular interest.

An array of technologies is available for the treatment of cyanide in surface water and groundwater, wastewaters, and contaminated soils and sludges. These technologies span the gamut of biological, chemical, electrolytic, physical, and thermal treatment processing. Presenting examples of applications of the technologies employed most commonly in municipal and industrial settings, the book is a useful reference tool for engineers, scientists, practitioners, and researchers in academia, industrial organizations, government, and engineering and science consulting firms.