Manganese & compounds: Environmental effects
Description
Manganese is an essential element for all living organisms including animals, plants and bacteria. Manganese and its compounds have moderate acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic life. Insufficient data are available to evaluate or predict the short-term and long-term effects of manganese and its compounds on plants, birds, or land animals. Most plants have a very high tolerance for manganese.
Entering the environment
Manganese can be transported as particles released into the atmosphere or as dissolved compounds in natural waters.
Where it ends up
Manganese occurs everywhere and can be found in nature at background levels in air, soil, water and food. Iron-manganese oxides in waters are carriers for many other inorganic and organic pollutants and are thus sources and sinks of them in aquatic environments including sediments. Airborne manganese particles settle and accumulate in the upper part of the soil and its availability for plants depends on the form of the manganese compounds and pH value of the soil.
Environmental guidelines
No national guidelines.
Key
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