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GEOCIIEMISTRY & OCCURRENCE OF SELENIUM ~ Table 1-1. Selected Se concentrations in vazious materials.t Materials Se, mg/kg Reference Eazth's crust 0.05 Taylor, 1964 Granite 0.01-0.05 Kabata-Pendias &Pendias, 1984 Limestone 0.08 Ebens &Shacklette, 1982 Sandstones <0.05 Ebens &Shacklette, 1982 Shales 0.06 Ebens &Shacklette, 1982 Phosphate rocks 1-300 NAS-NRC, 1976 Soils Seleniferous 1-80 Trelease, 1945 <_ 1200 Fle3ning, 1962 Other soils USA <0.1-4.3 Shacklette & Boerngen, 1984; Tidball, 1984 England/Wales <0.01-4.7 Thornton et al., 1983 Coal 0.46-10.65 Pillay et al., 1969 Atmospheric dust 0.05-10 Lakin & Byers, 1941 River water Mississippi 0.000 14 Khazkaz et al., 1968 Amazon 0.000 21 Kharkar et al., 1968 Colorado 0.01-0.4 Scott & Voegeli, 1961 (alkaline rivers) Lake Michigan 0.000 8-0.01 Robberecht & Von Grieken, 1982 Seawater 0.000 09 Cutter & Bruland, 1984 USA plants§ Grasses 0.01-0.04 Kabata-Pendias &Pendias, 1984 Clover & alfalfa 0.03-0.88 Kabata-Pendias &Pendias, 1984 Barley 0.2-1.8 Ebens &Shacklette, 1982 Oat 0.15-1.0 Ebens &Shacklette, 1982 Algae Marine 0.04-0.24 Chau & Riley, 1965 Freshwater <2.0 Jenkins, 1980 Whole fish$ Mazine 0.3-2.0 Hall et al., 1978 Freshwater 0.42-0.64 May & McKinney, 1981 Animal tissue 0.4-4 Frost, 1972 t Expressed on dry-wt. basis, except waters expressed in mg/L. $ Expressed on fresh-wt. basis. § Clover, 7}ifoliam sp.; alfalfa, Medicagosatiua L.; barley, Hordeum uulgare L.; oat, Averza s¢tiua L. Selenium enters the atmosphere through volcanic activity (Greenland & Aruscavage, 1986) and the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal. Coal and highly organic-rich sediments tend to have high concentrations of Se, presumably due to adsorption or organic matter complexation of Se (table 1-1; Fleming, 1962; Wilber, 1983). Rock weathering is the major source of environmental Se. Limestones and sandstones tend to have low concentrations of Se (<0.1 mg/kg), whereas shales tend to have higher concentrations (0.6 mg/kg). Soils formed from pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, volcanic ash, or granites tend to be low in Se, reflecting the low concentrations of Se in the parent materials (Table 1-1). Selenium deficiency disorders, like white muscle disease, tend to occur in areas where Se soil concentrations are low. These areas include the Pacif- ic Northwest and the eastern third of the USA (Mayland, 1985). On the other hand, the parent material for the seleniferous soils of the northern Great