Iron levels of river-bottom surface sediment of the St. Mary's River
upstream and downstream of industrial establishments

Thomas Josef Detert
Department of Biology and Chemistry
Lake Superior State University
Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan
49783

Abstract

	Sault Sainte Marie was established as an industrial town since the late nineteenth century.
Algoma Steel produced the first steel ever made in Ontario on February 18, 1902. A large scrap iron
yard has been located on the waterfront since February of 1902 as well. The major component of
steel is iron. During fabrication, iron is inevitably released via effluent into the St. Mary's River.
During decomposition, as in the Trader's Metal dump, iron is released into the water. The objective
of this study was to determine if there was an appreciable difference in exchangeable iron levels in
river-bottom surface sediment before and after the industrial heart of Sault Ste. Marie along the St.
Mary's.

	On October 23, 1995, samples were collected from the Leigh's Bay Conservation Area
(upstream of Sault Sainte Marie's industries) and from the bay area near Bellevue Park (downstream),
both located on the Canadian side of the river. Samples were collected using two methods -- an
Ekman Grab Sampler, and a standard core sampler. The exchangeable iron of these samples was
extracted using a 1 M ammonium acetate solution. The extracts for each sample were then analyzed
for exchangeable iron content using flame atomic absorbance spectroscopy.

	Comparison between sites indicated that exchangeable iron levels were considerably higher
at the Bellevue Park sites (downstream of major industry) than at the Leigh's Bay sites. Comparison
between methods using a paired t-test indicated a significant difference between sampling methods,
at both the Bellevue Park and Leigh's Bay sites. Both methods however, indicated higher levels at
the Bellevue Park sites.


Selected References

Barnes,	R.S.K., K. H. Mann. Fundamentals of Aquatic Ecology. Cambridge, MA. Blackwell
Scientific, 1991.

Page A.L., R.H. Miller, D.R. Keeney. Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2: Chemical and
Microbiologica1 Properties. 2nd ed. Madison, WI: American Society of
Agronomy, 1987.