At 10:48 AM 4/15/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Actually the warm water outlets contain just that.. Warm Water. Thats what
>kills off the biota in the surrounding streams of a nuclear power plant.
 
Actually, warm water effluent from power plants does contain more than just
warm water. Cooling systems in at least the older plants were made of
copper, and as the hot water travels through the pipes, the water picks up
copper - which is lethal in small doses to most molluscs. I worked on a
river where the freshwater mussels had been extirpated for a mile or so
below the power plant cooling effluent. The plant was forced to switch to
stainless steel pipes as a result.
 
 
*****************************************
 G Thomas Watters
 Ohio Biological Survey &
 Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
 Ohio State University
 1315 Kinnear Road
 Columbus, OH 43212 USA
 v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
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Theater
 
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