Removal of total organic carbon from marine mammal pool water by polymeric resins.

Chlorinated organic compounds comprise a portion of the total organic carbon (TOC) of marine mammal pool water. The long-term effects of these substances on the health of captive marine mammals are unknown, but good husbandry practices should include maintaining TOC at low concentrations. Two polymeric resins (trade names XAD-2 and XAD-4) were tested for their capacity to adsorb TOC from the water of a saline, closed-system marine mammal pool. At a concentration of 588 mg of XAD-2/L, TOC was reduced by approximately 9% after 96 hours; 630 mg of XAD-4/L reduced TOC concentrations by approximately after 77 hours. Equilibrium was not approached in any of the experiments. The 2 materials tested are ineffective in this particular application, but ion exchange resins may perform better.