Conclusions
Thallium is present in the effluents of the base-metal mining industry, and its acute toxicity to juvenile Atlantic salmon is approximately equal to that of copper. The usual treatment of waste water with alkali to remove heavy metals by precipitation has little effect on thallium. The limited use of thallium will not lead to a global contamination of the environment, but localized problems may exist or develop in the future, mainly as a result of mineral processing.
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Zitko, V., Carson, W.V. & Carson, W.G. Thallium: Occurrence in the environment and toxicity to fish. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 13, 23–30 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01684859
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01684859