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Udodenko YG, Robinson CT, Choijil J, Badrakh R, Munkhbat J, Ivanova ES, Komov VT. Mercury levels in sediment, fish and macroinvertebrates of the Boroo River, northern Mongolia, under the legacy of gold mining. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2022; 31:312-323. [PMID: 34988727 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-021-02502-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Gold mining is currently one of the main anthropogenic sources of mercury in the environment. In this study, the total mercury content was measured in bottom sediments, benthic macroinvertebrates (mayfly larvae), and fish (Siberian dace) along the Boroo River in northern Mongolia. There was a gold recovery plant in the middle reaches of the river until the mid-twentieth century; an accident there in the 1950s caused a mercury spill. We found an increased content of mercury in measured ecosystem components near the plant compared to the upper reaches of the river. The mercury content in sediments varied from trace amounts in the upper Boroo to 2200 ng/g dry weight (dw) in the vicinity of the plant ruins. The mercury content in mayfly larvae ranged from 50 to 2940 ng/g dw and had a spatial pattern as sediments, with the highest concentrations near the plant. The mercury content in sediments was lower at the mouth of the Boroo River than near the plant, reflecting the lower boundary of the mercury spill. Maximum values of mercury content in fish muscle were found at the river's mouth and were several times higher than in other rivers of northern Mongolia. Median mercury content in muscles of dace from the lower Boroo in 2016 has doubled since studies in 2010-2012, which may be the result of current mercury releases from gold mining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yury G Udodenko
- Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nekouz district, Yaroslavl oblast 152742, Borok, Russia.
- Department of human health and biology, Cherepovets State University, Lunacharskogo, 5, Cherepovets, 162600, Russia.
| | - Christopher T Robinson
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland and Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH-Zürich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Javzan Choijil
- Institute of Geography-Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Science, Baruun Selbe 15, Ulaanbaatar, 210620, Mongolia
| | - Renchinbud Badrakh
- Institute of Geography-Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Science, Baruun Selbe 15, Ulaanbaatar, 210620, Mongolia
| | - Jansagsodnom Munkhbat
- Institute of Geography-Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Science, Baruun Selbe 15, Ulaanbaatar, 210620, Mongolia
| | - Elena S Ivanova
- Department of human health and biology, Cherepovets State University, Lunacharskogo, 5, Cherepovets, 162600, Russia
| | - Victor T Komov
- Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nekouz district, Yaroslavl oblast 152742, Borok, Russia
- Department of human health and biology, Cherepovets State University, Lunacharskogo, 5, Cherepovets, 162600, Russia
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Kwasigroch U, Bełdowska M, Jędruch A, Łukawska-Matuszewska K. Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:35690-35708. [PMID: 33675497 PMCID: PMC8277639 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13023-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The study aimed to determine the level of mercury (Hg) and its labile and stable forms in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. The work considers the impact of current and historical sources of Hg on sediment pollution, together with the influence of different environmental parameters, including water inflows from the North Sea. Surface sediments (top 5 cm) were collected in 2016-2017 at 91 stations located in different areas of the Baltic Sea, including Belt Sea, Arkona Basin, Bornholm Basin, Gdańsk Basin, West Gotland Basin, East Gotland Basin, and the Bothnian Sea. Besides, the particulate matter suspended in the surface and near-bottom water was also collected. The analysis of total Hg concentration and individual Hg forms in collected samples was carried out using a 5-step thermodesorption method. This method allows for the identification of three labile and thus biologically available, fractions of Hg, which are mercury halides, organic Hg, mercury oxide and sulphate. Two stable fractions, mercury sulphide and residual Hg, were also determined. The highest Hg concentrations, reaching 341 ng g-1, were measured in the highly industrialised Kiel Bay, which was additionally a munition dumping site during and after World War II. High Hg level, ranging from 228 to 255 ng g-1, was also recorded in the surface sediments of the Arkona Basin, which was a result of the cumulative effect of several factors, such as deposition of Hg-rich riverine matter, favourable hydrodynamic conditions and military activities in the past. The relatively elevated Hg concentrations, varying from 60 to 264 ng g-1, were found in the Gdańsk Basin, a region under strong anthropopressure and dominated by soft sediments. The sum of labile Hg in sediments was high and averaged 67% (with the domination of organic Hg compounds), which means that a large part of Hg can be released to the water column. It was found that the water inflows from the North Sea intensify the remobilisation of Hg and its transformation into bioavailable labile forms. As a consequence, the load of Hg introduced into the trophic chain can increase. Despite the significant reduction of Hg emission into the Baltic in the last decades, surface sediments can be an important secondary Hg source in the marine ecosystem. This is especially dangerous in the case of the western Baltic Sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urszula Kwasigroch
- Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk, Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland
| | - Magdalena Bełdowska
- Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk, Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Jędruch
- Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk, Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland
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Zhao B, O'Connor D, Shen Z, Tsang DCW, Rinklebe J, Hou D. Sulfur-modified biochar as a soil amendment to stabilize mercury pollution: An accelerated simulation of long-term aging effects. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 264:114687. [PMID: 32388301 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The stability of mercury (Hg) contamination in soil environments can change over time. This has implications for agricultural sites under long-term management after in situ treatment involving soil amendments. In this study, rice husk biochar (RHB) and sulfur modified rice husk biochar (SRHB) were synthesized and applied (dosage = 5% dry wt.) to a Hg polluted agricultural soil collected from Guizhou province, Southern China (soil total Hg content = 28.3 mg/kg; C = 2%; and, S = 0.1%). The long-term stabilization effectiveness of the soil treatments was evaluated by a combined approach involving: (i) accelerated aging for 104 simulated years; (ii) soil extraction as a proxy for plant uptake; and, (iii) sequential extraction to identify Hg fractions. The SRHB amendment raised the soil's total S content by approximately an order of magnitude (to 0.9%), which remained at a generally constant level throughout the simulation. The initial pH levels for the untreated and treated soils were alkaline and remained between 7.0 and 7.5 for the first 50 years of simulated aging, before decreasing as the simulation time increased further. The pH of the SRHB treated soils did not drop below that of untreated soils during the simulation. Soil extraction tests with 0.1 M HCl solution indicated that RHB and SRHB treatments could effectively immobilize the Hg in soil for at least 50 and 75 simulated years, respectively. At simulated year 50, the amount of Hg extracted from RHB and SRHB treated soils was <200 ng/L and <100 ng/L, respectively. Thus, showing SRHB to be a particularly promising remedial option. The soil Hg was mostly associated with the stable sequential extraction fractions (F3-5). By the end of the simulation, the F5 fraction for SRHB and RHB treated soils reduced by 44.6%, and 42.0%, respectively, whereas the F4 fraction increased by >400% in both cases. In summary, SRHB may provide long-lasting Hg stabilization at contaminated sites. Therefore, further research toward the development of this stabilization technology is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhao
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - David O'Connor
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhengtao Shen
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Daniel C W Tsang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jörg Rinklebe
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, Wuppertal, 42285, Germany; Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Deyi Hou
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Száková J, Havlíčková J, Šípková A, Gabriel J, Švec K, Baldrian P, Sysalová J, Coufalík P, Červenka R, Zvěřina O, Komárek J, Tlustoš P. Effects of the soil microbial community on mobile proportions and speciation of mercury (Hg) in contaminated soil. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH. PART A, TOXIC/HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 2016; 51:364-370. [PMID: 26761522 DOI: 10.1080/10934529.2015.1109413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The precise characterization of the behavior of individual microorganisms in the presence of increased mercury contents in soil is necessary for better elucidation of the fate of mercury in the soil environment. In our investigation, resistant bacterial strains isolated from two mercury contaminated soils, represented by Paenibacillus alginolyticus, Burkholderia glathei, Burkholderia sp., and Pseudomonas sp., were used. Two differently contaminated soils (0.5 and 7 mg kg(-1) total mercury) were chosen. Preliminary soil analysis showed the presence of methylmercury and phenylmercury with the higher soil mercury level. Modified rhizobox experiments were performed to assess the ability of mercury accumulating strains to deplete the mobile and mobilizable mercury portions in the soil by modification; microbial agar cultures were used rather than the plant root zone. A sequential extraction procedure was performed to release the following mercury fractions: water soluble, extracted in acidic conditions, bound to humic substances, elemental, and bound to complexes, HgS and residual. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and a single-purpose atomic absorption spectrometer (AMA-254) were applied for mercury determination in the samples and extracts. Gas chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry (GC-AFS) was used for the determination of organomercury compounds. The analysis of the microbial community at the end of the experiment showed a 42% abundance of Paenibacillus sp. followed by Acetivibrio sp., Brevibacillus sp., Cohnella sp., Lysinibacillus sp., and Clostridium sp. not exceeding 2% abundance. The results suggest importance of Paenibacillus sp. in Hg transformation processes. This genus should be tested for potential bioremediation use in further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiřina Száková
- a Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition , Czech University of Life Sciences Prague , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Havlíčková
- a Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition , Czech University of Life Sciences Prague , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Adéla Šípková
- a Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition , Czech University of Life Sciences Prague , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Gabriel
- b Institute of Microbiology, Vídeňská , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Karel Švec
- b Institute of Microbiology, Vídeňská , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Petr Baldrian
- b Institute of Microbiology, Vídeňská , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Jiřina Sysalová
- c Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Laboratory, Institute of Chemical Technology , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Coufalík
- d Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic
- e Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic , Brno , Czech Republic
| | - Rostislav Červenka
- d Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Zvěřina
- d Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic
- f Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic
| | - Josef Komárek
- d Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Tlustoš
- a Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition , Czech University of Life Sciences Prague , Prague , Czech Republic
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Sedlar M, Pavlin M, Jaćimović R, Stergaršek A, Frkal P, Horvat M. Temperature Fractionation (TF) of Hg Compounds in Gypsum from Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization System of the Coal Fired Thermal Power Plant (TPP). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.4236/ajac.2015.612090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Coufalík P, Komárek J. The use of thermal desorption in the speciation analysis of mercury in soil, sediments and tailings. JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 2014. [DOI: 10.1134/s1061934814120028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Coufalík P, Zvěřina O, Mikuška P, Komárek J. Seasonal variability of mercury contents in street dust in Brno, Czech Republic. BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 2014; 93:503-508. [PMID: 24816804 DOI: 10.1007/s00128-014-1289-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Environmental contamination by mercury carries serious risks to the biosphere. Urban agglomerations burdened with traffic are characterized by substantial dust levels, including high concentrations of pollutants bound to particulate matter. In this research, the content of particulate mercury in street dust was investigated in relation to the season and traffic intensity. In total, 80 street dust samples were collected in the centre of Brno (Czech Republic) in which total and bioaccessible mercury contents were determined. Total mercury content in the samples ranged from 0.03 to 2.67 mg/kg. The content of bioaccessible mercury was below the limit of quantification in all samples. Thus, street dust did not increase the daily mercury intake by the population in studied area. A clear trend of mercury accumulation in street dust depending on traffic intensity in the investigated streets was not observed over the whole year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Coufalík
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic,
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