1 JSS (4) 2001     Flood waters - a potential vehicle for land deposition of sediment- and particle-bound metals in the middle Tisza River (Hungary). Spring 2000 floods inundated the small village of Kötelek, leaving watermarks nearly 1.5 meters high on trees near the riverbank (see pp. 213-216, 'Preliminary Assessment of Metal Toxicity in the Middle Tisza River, Hungary, Flood Plain', by Marsha C. Black and Phillip L. Williams. Photo: Marsha C. Black). From January to March 2000, three accidental releases of Romanian mine wastes contaminated the Tisza River with heavy metals. Although metal concentrations in the river were not acutely toxic to biota, many heavy metals can associate with particles and sediments and persist in aquatic systems. Thus, occasional, accidental releases of wastes and sludge from up-stream mines place the Tisza River at risk for chronic accumulation and toxicity from heavy metals. In the spring of 2000, subsequent severe flooding of the Tisza River potentially spread sediment- and particle-bound metals to the adjacent flood plain. The risk of soil contamination was especially great in the middle Tisza River region. There, flood waters breached earthen dams and inundated small villages and agricultural fields adjacent to the river for several weeks. Shortly after the water receded, researchers from the University of Georgia (USA) sampled soil and sediment from the middle Tisza River and flood plain for heavy metal and toxicity analyses. Cover design: Edwin Grondinger.

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