The adsorption of microcystin-LR by natural clay particles

The microcystin cyanobacterial hepatotoxins represent an increasingly sever e global health hazard. Sines microcystins are found world wide in drinking water reservoirs concern about the impact on human health has prompted inv estigations into remedial water treatment methods. This preliminary study i nvestigates the scavenging from water of microcystin-LR by fine-grained par ticles known to have a high concentration of the clay minerals kaolinite an d montmorillonite. The results show that more than 81% of microcystin-LR ca n be removed from water by clay material. Thus, microcystin-LR is indeed sc avenged from water bodies by fine-grained particles and that this property may offer an effective method of stripping these toxins from drinking water supplies. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.