Sulphur Isotope Fractionation in Smelter Emission Streams and Precipitation Sudbury, Ontario

Abstract

<p> International Nickel Company's 1250 ft. stack located in Sudbury, Ontario emits an estimated 3,000 tons of sulphur oxide daily. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of stable sulphur isotopes as a means of tracing the movement of these sulphur oxide emissions. Sulphur isotope analysis were done for lakewater, rainwater and sediment samples taken from the Sudbury-Timagami district and also for particulate and gas samples taken from the 600 ft. level of the International Nickel Company's 1250 ft. stack. </p> <p> The s s^34 values of lake surface samples showed a decrease related directly to the increase of the logarithm of the distance from Sudbury. The maximum s s^34 value for the lakewater samples was + 8.49 p.p.t. at a distance of 7 miles from Sudbury. The minimum s s^34 value for lakewater samples was+2.97 p.p.t. at a distance of 55 miles from Sudbury. </p> <p> The rainwater s s^34 values vary from + 4.85 p.p.t. recorded for a station 5 miles north of Sudbury to + 2.07 p.p.t. for a station 60 miles east north east of Sudbury. </p> <p> The increase in s s^34 values in the lakewater relative to rainwater strongly suggest that the oxidation of so2(g) to s4^2- is occurring in the lakes in the Sudbury-Timagami district. </p>