Abstract
The purpose of this study is to find out the source(s) and distribution of boron in Nak-dong River. In the year of 2002, the boron has been adopted as a toxic constituent for Korean drinking water standard. In this study, the analytical samples were collected at 11 stations in March, June, September and December 2002. These samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass (ICP-MS) method. The recovery, relative standard deviation and method detection limit of the ICP-MS method for boron was $89{\sim}111.3%$, $2.21{\sim}3.81%$ and $5{\mu}g/L$, respectively. The distribution of boron was ranged $65{\sim}155{\mu}g/L$ in March, $26{\sim}125{\mu}g/L$ in June, $22{\sim}140{\mu}g/L$ in September and $50{\sim}162{\mu}g/L$ in December. The higher levels of boron were found at Kum-ho river nearby the industrial complex, which seemed to be greatly affected by domestic sewages and wastewater from the upper streams. Thus, the concentration of boron and that of other components showed strong statistical correlation in this area. In the Nak-dong River, industrial wastewater and domestic sewages is thought to be the sources of boron.