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Science 15 March 2002:
Vol. 295. no. 5562, pp. 2060 - 2062
DOI: 10.1126/science.1068368
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Reports

Chromium Isotopes and the Fate of Hexavalent Chromium in the Environment

Andre S. Ellis,1 Thomas M. Johnson,1* Thomas D. Bullen2

Measurements of chromium (Cr) stable-isotope fractionation in laboratory experiments and natural waters show that lighter isotopes reacted preferentially during Cr(VI) reduction by magnetite and sediments. The 53Cr/52Cr ratio of the product was 3.4 ± 0.1 per mil less than that of the reactant. 53Cr/52Cr shifts in water samples indicate the extent of reduction, a critical process that renders toxic Cr(VI) in the environment immobile and less toxic.

1 Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 245 Natural History Building, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
2 Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tmjohnsn{at}uiuc.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
ZINC ISOTOPE VARIATION IN HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS: PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FROM THE IRISH MIDLANDS ORE FIELD.
J. J. Wilkinson, D. J. Weiss, T. F. D. Mason, and B. J. Coles (2005)
Economic Geology 100, 583-590
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Overview and General Concepts.
C. M. Johnson, B. L. Beard, and F. Albarede (2004)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 55, 1-24
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Mass-Dependent Fractionation of Selenium and Chromium Isotopes in Low-Temperature Environments.
T. M. Johnson and T. D. Bullen (2004)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 55, 289-317
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)