United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4601
EPA811-F-95-002b-T
October 1995
&EPA
National Primary Drinking
Water Regulations
Barium
CHEMICAL/ PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
CAS NUMBER: 7440-39-3 (metal)
COLOR/ FORM/ODOR: Barium is a lustrous, machinable metal
which exists in nature only in combined form.
SOIL SORPTION COEFRCIENT: Koc N/A; high mobility
BIOCONCENTRATION FACTOR: BCFs of 7-100 for marine animals,
1000 for marine plants, 2-20 for some crops.
COMMON ORES: sulfate- Barite; carbonate- Witnerite
SOLUBIUTIES (WATER):
' carbonate- 22 mg/L at 18 deg C
chloride- 310 g/L at 0 deg C
chromate- 3.4 mg/L at 16 deg C
cyanide 800 g/L at 14 deg C
hydroxide- sol. in dil. acid
nitrate- 87 g/L at 20 deg C
permanganate- 625 g/L at 11 deg C
peroxide- sol. in dil. acid
sulfate- 2.2 mg/L at 18 deg C
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
MCLG: 2 mg/l
MCL: 2 mg/l
HAL(child): none
HEALTH EFFECTS SUMMARY
Barium nitrate is used in fireworks, ceramic glazes,
electronics, tracer bullets, detonators, and neon sign
lights. Barium cyanide is used in electroplating and
metallurgy. Barium chlorate is used in fireworks, explo-
sives, matches, and. as a mordant in dyeing.
Barium carbonate is used as follows: 45 percent as
ingredient in glass, 25 percent in brick and clay products,
Acute: EPA has found barium to potentially cause
gastrointestinal disturbances and muscular weakness
resulting from acute exposures at levels above the MCL.
No Health Advisories have been established for short-
term exposures.
Chronic: Barium has the potential to cause hyperten-
sion resulting from long-term exposures at levels above
the MCL
Cancer: There is no evidence that barium has the
potential to cause cancer from lifetime exposures in
drinking water.
USAGE PATTERNS
The largest end use of barium metal is as a "getter" to
remove the last traces of gases from vacuum and
television picture tubes. It is also used to improve perfor-
mance of lead alloy grids of acid batteries; as a compo-
nent of grey arid ductile irons; in the manufacture of
steel, copper and other metals; as a loader for paper,
soap, rubber and linoleum.
Barium peroxide is used as a bleach, in dyes, fire-
^prks and tracer-bullets, in igniter and welding materi-
PS, and in manufacture of hydrogen peroxide and oxy-
gen. The permanganate is used as a dry cell depolarizer
and in disinfee*—**- , •
7 percent as a raw material tor Danum terntes, 4 percent
n photograpnic paper coatings, 19 percent other.
Toxic RELEASE INVENTORY •
RELEASES TO WATER AND LAND: 1987 TO 1993
Water Land
TOTALS (in pounds) 928,448 57,063,031
Top Ten States *
AZ 0 14,595,520
UT 1,500 13.423.164
VA .0 9.218.901
NM 0 5,233,790
IL 34,000 3,977.817
TN 0 2,586,906
AL 31.041 1,638,988
PA 15,582 1,216,362
TX 167,864 599,565
NJ 20,905 705.666
Major Industries*
Copper smelting 1,500 31,958,310
Car parts, accessories 1,743 9,456,667
Industrial organics 132,511 4,106,827
. Inorganic pigments • 5,261 3,672,451
Gray, ductile iron . .. 0 1.556.681 ;
Steelworks, furnaces 256,582 679,999
Electrometallurgy 1.599 633.876 -
Paper mills 64.770 527,330
* Water/Land totals only include facilities with releases
greater than a certain amount - usually 1000 to 10,000 Ibs.
October 1995
Technical Version
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Barium hydroxide is used In rubricating otto a
and as a component of detergents in motor oils. It is also
used in plastics stabilizers, papermaking additives, seal-
ing compounds, vulcanization accelerators, pigment dis-
persants and self-extinguishing polyurethane foams and
to protect limesf objects from deterioration.
Barium chloric used in pigments, glass, dyeing,
leather tanning, e = >rine and sodium hydroxide manu-
facture and in water softening. Barium-based dyes are
widely used in inks, paints, cosmetics and drugs
Over 65% of barite produced was used as a weighting
agent in oil and gas well drilling fluids, with a 50 percent
decrease in demand for barite in 1986 due primarily to a
severe downturn in oil and gas well drilling activity
prompted by soft world oil prices. Barium sulfate is also
used in photographic papers, pigments and as a filler for
rubber & resins.
RELEASE PATTERNS
Barium metal does not occur in nature. The most
common ores are the sulfate, barite, found in AK, AR, CA,
GA, KY, MO, NV, TN, and the carbonate, witherite, found
in AR, CA, GA, KY, MO, NV. Barite was produced at 38
mines in the seven states in 1973, with Nevada supplying
50% of the tonnage. Missouri ranked second.
Barium is released to water and soil in the discharge
and disposal of drilling wastes, from the smelting of
copper, and the manufacture of motor vehicle parts and
accessories.
Barium is emitted into the atmosphere mainly by the
industrial processes involved in the mining, refining, and
production of barium and barium-based chemicals, and
as a result of combustion of coal and oil.
From 1987 to 1993, according to the Toxics Release
Inventory barium compound releases to land and water
totalled over 57 million IDS., of which about 99 percent
was to land. These releases were primarily from copper
smelting industries which use barium as a deoxidizer.
The largest releases occurred in Arizona and Utah. The
largest direct releases to water occurred in Texas
Barium is found in waste streams from a large number
of manufacturing plants in quantities that seldom exceed
the normal levels found in soil. Background levels for soil
range from 100-3000 pprri barium. Occurs naturally in
almost all (99.4%) surface waters examined, in concen-
tration of 2 to 340 ug/l, with an average of 43 ug/l. The
drainage basins with low mean concentration of barium
(15 ug/l) occur in the western Great Lakes, & the highest
mean concentration of 90 ug/l is in the southwestern
drainage basins of the lower Mississippi Valley. In stream
water & most groundwater, only traces of the element are
present.
There are limited survey data on the occurrence of
-barium m drinking water. Most supplies contain less than
200 ug/l of barium. The average concentration of barium
in USA drinking water is 28.6 ug/l (1977 data). The
drinking water of many communities in Illinois, Kentucky,
Pennsylvania, & New Mexico contains concentrations of
barium that may be 10 times higher than the drinking,
water standard. The source of these supplies is usually
well water. Currently 60 ground water supplies and 1
surface water supply exceeds 1000 ug/l.
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
In water, the more toxic soluble barium salts are likely
to precipitate out as the less toxic insoluble sulfate or
carbonate. Barium is not very mobile in most soil sys-
tems. Adsorption of barium was measured in a sandy soil
and a sandy loam soil at levels closely corresponding to
those to be expected.for field conditions. In general,
sludge solutions appeared to increase the mobility of
elements in a soil. This is due to a combination of
complexation by dissolved organic compounds, high
background concentration and high ionic strengths of the
soil solution.
Marine animals concentrate the element 7-100 times,
and marine plants 1000 times from seawater. Soybeans
and tomatoes also accumulate soil barium 2-20 times.
OTHER REGULATORY INFORMATION
MONITORING:
- FOR GROUND WATER SOURCES:
INITIAL FREQUENCY- 1 sample once every 3 years
REPEAT FREQUENCY- If no detections for 3 rounds, once every 9 years
- FOR SURFACE WATER SOURCES:
INITIAL FREQUENCY- 1 sample annually
REPEATFREO.UENCY- If no detections for 3 rounds, once every 9 years
- TRIGGERS - If detect at > 2 mg/L, sample quarterly.
ANALYSIS:
REFERENCE SOURCE
EPA 600/4-79-020
NTISPB91-231498
Standard Methods
METHOD NUMBERS
208.1:208.2
200.7
3111D;3113B
TREATMENT:
BESTAVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES _ •
Ion Exchange, Reverse Osmosis, Lime Softening, Electrodialysis
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
4 EPA can provide further regulatory and other general information:
• EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline - 800/426-4791
* Other sources of lexicological and environmental fate data include:
• Toxic Substance Control Act Information Line - 202/554-1404
• Toxics Release Inventory, National Library of Medicine - 301/496-6531
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - 404/639-6000
October 1995
Technical Version
Page 2
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