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Mercury present in produced oil and gas will deposit onto the internal process infrastructure via a number of mechanisms including chemisorption and adsorption with the primary mechanism being through reaction with iron sulphide to form mercury sulphide. Due to the volumes of fluids produced and the length of time facilities are in production, even where the produced fluids have historically contained relatively low concentrations of mercury, pipeline scales containing percentage levels of mercury may be present. Thus, aged facilities and infrastructure that have reached the end of their operational life and are selected for either recycling or abandonment, may pose a serious risk to health and the environment if the decommissioning process is not managed correctly. Smelting, hot cutting or other thermal/abrasive surface preparations for example, can lead to significant release of elemental mercury, a worker exposure hazard. Alternatively, if sub-sea pipelines are abandoned in-situ, all mercury present will ultimately be transferred to the local ecosystems. Consequently, the oil and gas industry have the requirement for a complete mercury decontamination solution from initial evaluation, demonstrable cleaning efficacy through to a guarantee for the treatment and disposal of the mercury waste generated in an environmentally-friendly manner. In order to decide upon the most appropriate decontamination solution, an evaluation of the extent of mercury contamination should be undertaken. A novel approach that has recently been successfully implemented involved analysis of pipe sections by multiple analytical techniques, providing the mercury concentration in the scale/steel. From this, the total mass of mercury across the process or pipeline was approximated. Subsequently, the efficacy of the preferred chemical to remove mercury from the internal surfaces of pipework was evaluated by chemical treatment of the pipe sections under laboratory conditions. In-situ decontamination can be performed by a number of applications, including (i) the use of chemical pig trains in pipelines, (ii) closed loop circulation of chemical around topside process equipment and (iii) high pressure spraying of large surface areas such as storage tanks, FSO / FPSO vessels. The mercury waste generated is treated, on site or off site, to minimise the volume and disposed of in accordance with international regulations. An all-encompassing mercury decontamination solution is described. Trials involving the chemical treatment of steel sections have demonstrated that more than 97% of the mercury deposited can be removed from the internal surfaces of pipelines and safely disposed of, significantly reducing the risk of (i) mercury release to the environment and (ii) worker exposure to mercury during smelting activities.

Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar los resultados del análisis de la sentencia T-622 de 2016 por medio de la cual se declaró al río Atrato como entidad sujeto de derechos en tres etapas, en la primera, se describen las afectaciones a la salud y al ambiente por el desarrollo de la minería ilegal, en la segunda etapa, se hace un recuento de las consideraciones que tuvo la Corte Constitucional para declarar al río Atrato como sujeto de derechos y en la tercera etapa, se describen los avances de cumplimiento de las órdenes dadas por la Corte. Se realizó una revisión de los informes emitidos por el comité de seguimiento y los boletines informativos emitidos por el Ministerio de Ambiente como representante legal del río. Se pudo evidenciar que la población asentada en la cuenca del río Atrato está expuesta a concentraciones de mercurio mayores a las recomendadas por la Organización Internacional para la Salud-OMS, como los ecosistemas han perdido su capacidad de proveer servicios a estas comunidades, la vulneración de los derechos a los territorios colectivos, pueblos étnicos y comunidad en general, al igual que el protagonismo que da la corte a la constitución política colombiana de 1991, y la manera extemporánea como han venido cumpliendo las órdenes dadas por la corte. This article aims to present the results of the analysis of judgment T-622 of 2016 by which the Atrato river was declared as an entity subject to rights in three stages, the first one describes the effects on health and environment due to the development of illegal mining, in the second stage, a recount is made of the considerations that the Constitutional Court had to declare the Atrato river as a subject of rights and in the third stage, the progress of compliance with the orders is described given by the Court. A review was made of the reports issued by the monitoring committee and the information bulletins issued by the Ministry of the Environment as the river's legal representative. It was possible to show that the population settled in the Atrato river basin is exposed to concentrations of mercury higher than those recommended by the International Health Organization-WHO, as ecosystems have lost their capacity to provide services to these communities, the violation of the rights to collective territories, ethnic peoples and the community in general, as well as the prominence given by the court to the 1991 Colombian political constitution, and the extemporaneous manner in which they have been carrying out the orders given by the court. Especialización

Mining is very important to the economic, political and social development of the Minas Gerais State in Brazil ever since the time the country became a Portuguese colony in the early 1500s. However, few researches have been conducted to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the mining activity at this time. There are many abandoned mines in Minas Gerais; these are mainly gold mines inherited from the colonial period, which have been considered to represent a considerable environmental liability. However, when a road was constructed in a rural area of the municipality of Descoberto, Minas Gerais, in 2002, a significant amount of mercury was detected in an abandoned gold mine. In 2014, the State Public Prosecutor's Office found both the State of Minas Gerais and the State Environmental Agency liable and responsible for this occurrence and ordered them to design an intervention project for the contaminated area that involved mine closure. This article provides information on how mercury contamination occurred and estimates the amount of mercury present in the contaminated area, with the aim of supporting proposals of alternative remediation, monitoring and management therein. This study includes a historical survey of mining operations in the region and a brief history of the use of mercury in amalgamation. Estimations are made of the amount of gold produced and the amount of mercury released into the environment between 1850 and 1892. Results show an estimated mass of 820 kg of mercury contained in soils and sediments within an area smaller than 1 hectare.

Mercury contamination in the Canadian Arctic is a significant concern. Some traditional food sources are contaminated by mercury and pose a health risk to local residents. Media can affect public awareness and opinions of environmental health risks. Therefore, it is important to understand how the risks associated with contaminants are communicated through the media. To better understand how the issue of mercury contamination in the Arctic has been presented in the media, a content analysis was conducted across 14 newspapers in the Canadian North and South. We examined how news sources presented the health risks of mercury in the Arctic, how mercury was defined, if pathways for self-efficacy (i.e., how a person can reduce his or her exposure to a hazard) were provided and who was quoted as an information source. Results demonstrate that few Indigenous people were cited as information sources, articles often failed to describe mercury to the reader and many did not provide direction to support self-efficacy. This study provides insight into how newspapers have communicated about mercury in the Canadian Arctic and suggests specific ways that this communication can be improved.

This study investigated mercury (Hg) contamination in the Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Water and sediment samples were collected from various sites having artisanal gold-mining along the Indus, Gilgit, and Hunza Rivers. Sediments were classified as wet sediment (WS, collected just after amalgamation), fresh dry sediment (FDS, collected after 1–2 h of amalgamation), and old dried sediment (ODS, collected after 1–2 days of amalgamation). Samples were analyzed for Hg by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with a mercury hydride system. Mercury mean concentrations were 2767 mg/kg in WS, 1917 mg/kg in FDS, and 191 mg/kg in ODS. These results revealed very high levels of Hg contamination in the WS and FDS. The Hg contamination of the spring (drinking water) did not exceed the permissible limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan’s environmental protection agency (Pak-EPA); however, the stream water surpassed these limits. Therefore, the Hg levels in the drinking water was used to assess the potential human health risk via the average daily dose (ADD) and hazard quotient (HQ). The ADD values were 0.03 and 0.06 µg/kg-day and HQ value of 0.9 and 2.0 for adults and children, respectively. This level of Hg contamination level is alarming and could be hazardous in future.

Feathers are widely used to represent mercury contamination in birds. Yet, few recommendations exist that provide guidance for using bird feathers in mercury monitoring programs. We conducted a literature review and 5 experiments to show that mercury concentrations vary substantially within (vane >100% higher than calamus) and among (>1000%) individual feathers from the same bird. We developed a research tool and guidelines for using bird feathers for mercury studies based on 3 components: 1) variability of feather mercury concentrations within an individual bird (coefficient of variation), 2) desired accuracy of the measured mercury concentration, and 3) feather and bird mass. Our results suggest a general rule that if the goal is to limit analytical and processing costs by using whole feathers in only one sample boat, then to achieve an accuracy within 10% of a bird's overall average feather mercury concentration a bird with a coefficient of variation ≤10% must be

We analyzed concentrations and trends of DDE, total PCBs, and mercury in bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nestlings at six study areas in the upper Midwest, 2006–2015, and long-term trends at two Lake Superior sites, 1989–2015. Eaglet plasma from the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior had the highest concentrations of DDE (geometric mean [GM] = 10.6 μg/L), and DDE concentrations decreased at 5.8% per year across the region from 2006 to 2015, and at 5.5% per year at Lake Superior sites from 1989 to 2015. Concentrations of the sum of 75 PCB congeners (ΣPCB75) were highest at Pools 3 and 4 of the Mississippi River (GM = 114.8 μg/L) and did not decline significantly region-wide (all study areas together) between the years of 2006 and 2011. However, at Lake Superior, ΣPCB75 declined from 1995 to 2011 along the south shore at 3.6% per year, with a non-significant decline at the Apostle Islands. Concentrations of mercury in nestling breast feathers were highest at the upper St. Croix River (GM = 6.66 μg/g wet weight). At Lake Superior study areas, mercury declined at 1.6% per year from 1991 to 2015; however, from 2006 to 2015 we found no significant trend at one of these same study areas and mercury concentrations apparently increased at two study areas. Mean concentrations of contaminants were below levels associated with significant impairment of reproduction at all sites and mean reproductive rates were > 1.4 young per nest. However, increasing concentrations of mercury in some areas, combined with relatively high concentrations at some nests, suggest that continued monitoring of mercury should be a management priority.

Lakes and reservoirs are frequently monitored by researchers for elevated mercury concentrations in sportfish. Rivers and streams, especially those of smaller orders, are less frequently monitored for mercury contamination. Mercury contamination in the environment comes predominantly from anthropogenic sources like artisanal gold mining and the burning of coal. We address this gap by surveying mercury levels in a stream community in the Kiamichi River in southeastern Oklahoma sampling fish, aquatic insects, and freshwater mussels at ten sites in the river. We found elevated levels of mercury across taxa within the river including large individuals of sportfish populations having concentrations (2986 ±1053 ng/g) above the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit. Furthermore, we observed high concentrations in darters and logperch (1133 ±464 ng/g), non-sportfish species found predominantly in rivers and streams. Our results indicate that mercury contamination can reach elevated concentrations in rivers and streams posing risks to both humans and wildlife.

The aim of this research was to obtain and determine the identity of Hg-resistant bacteria in soil contaminated with gold processing waste and test its ability to reduce mercury contamination. Soil samples as a source of Hg resistant bacterial isolates were obtained from the gold processing location in Ilangata Village, Anggrek District, North Gorontalo Regency. The research was conducted at the Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Mercury analysis was carried out at the Laboratory of Fisheries Product Quality Development and Testing (LPPMHP), Gorontalo Province, and bacterial identification was carried out at the Hasanuddin University Medical Research Center Research Unit. The parameters observed were the types of Hg resistant bacteria and the ability of the bacteria to reduce mercury contamination. The results showed that there were four bacterial isolates on the soil contaminated with 4.5 ppm mercury, which were named ILb01, ILB02, ILb03, and ILb04. Molecular identification showed that ILb01 was closely related to Stenotrophomonas sp. SB67 and ILb02 close to Enterobacter cloacae strain CM 1, these strains were not resistant to mercury contamination; while ILb03 which is similar to strain BS0591 and ILb04 which is similar to Bacterium Bacillus albus strain SQ30 16S could be resistant and was able to reduce mercury contamination by 99% at 10 ppm levels. Key words: heavy metals, Hg-resistant bacteria, molecular identification, mercury

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are directly linked with various kinds of adverse health issues. Available reports related to symptoms of mercury contamination in the local population of the study region motivated us to carry out this work in detail. To estimate potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) contamination status, a total of 48 samples of soilroad dust from industrial clusters were collected and analyzed for source identification and human health risk assessment in the Sonbhadra region of Uttar Pradesh, India. As per upper continental crust (UCC) for soil and road dust, the highest increment of As value in Obra and Hg value in Anpara was observed. The value of Hg exceeded the background value by 6.5 and 12.25 times in soil and 5 and 11.5 times in road dust of Obra and Anpara clusters, respectively. Contamination factor (CF) and Enrichment factor (EF) value in soil and road dust showed very strong contamination and significant enrichment of Hg whereas moderate contamination and moderate enrichment of As were observed in both the clusters. The hazard quotient (HQ) value of potentially toxic elements in soil and road dust of Obra and Anpara were found1 for three pathways in adults and children, except Fe for ingestion pathway for children in both clusters. The HQ value for adults was observed to be low compared to children. Cancer risk associated with potentially toxic elements in soil and road dust for both clusters were found safe (under the guideline 10

Mercury is one of the most common heavy metals and a major environmental pollutant that affects ecosystems. Since mercury and its compounds are toxic to humans, even at low concentrations, it is very important to monitor mercury contamination in water and foods. Although conventional mercury detection methods, including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, exhibit excellent sensitivity and accuracy, they require operation by an expert in a sophisticated and fully controlled laboratory environment. To overcome these limitations and realize point-of-care testing, many novel methods for direct sample analysis in the field have recently been developed by improving the speed and simplicity of detection. Commonly, these unconventional sensors rely on colorimetric, fluorescence, or electrochemical mechanisms to transduce signals from mercury. In the case of colorimetric and fluorescent sensors, benchtop methods have gradually evolved through technology convergence to give standalone platforms, such as paper-based assays and lab-on-a-chip systems, and portable measurement devices, such as smartphones. Electrochemical sensors that use screen-printed electrodes with carbon or metal nanomaterials or hybrid materials to improve sensitivity and stability also provide promising detection platforms. This review summarizes the current state of sensor platforms for the on-field detection of mercury with a focus on key features and recent developments. Furthermore, trends for next-generation mercury sensors are suggested based on a paradigm shift to the active integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as drones, systems based on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and three-dimensional printing, and high-quality smartphones.

Due to high vapour pressure at ambient conditions, exposed mercury contributes significant vapour concentration in working atmosphere. Ventilation is a conventional, cheap and very effective method to bring down the concentration of hazardous materials like mercury vapour below permissible limit. In this work a numerical model was developed to obtain intuitive understandings of the spatial distribution of mercury vapors from an exposed surface. The model was validated with experimental data generated using a precinct ventilation system with 8.14% absolute average error. a Validated model was used to study the effect of air flow rate (100–1200 LPM) and impact of architectural design of the containment for fixed exposed mercury surfaceon the final (diluted) mercury concentration. Comparative analysis shows that modification in structural design offers a reduced volume averaged exit mercury concentration and also the reduced peak mercury concentration(Cpeak) in the computational domain. Computational approach outlined in this work can be used to estimate spatial variation of mercury vapor concentration and to locate and quantify regions of high local concentration of mercury in various geometries., Air Pollution; Numerical methods; Mercury; Species transport; ventilation; Engineering; Chemistry; Environmental Science.

Mercury (Hg) contamination is an environmental concern as a by-product of legacy mining in Australia. Here we investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of Hg in the Molonglo River system in New South Wales, Australia, and assess the physical and chemical factors influencing that distribution. Mercury concentrations in sediment cores were measured in conjunction with 210Pb and 137Cs dating to establish historical contamination. This was done at the source mine site of Captains Flat, New South Wales, and the system’s sink in Lake Burley Griffin, Australian Capital Territory. Additionally, surficial sediment Hg concentrations along the Molonglo River were analyzed to determine the spatial distribution of Hg. Analytical results showed the primary physical and chemical factors influencing Hg dispersion to be distance, total organic matter, and the presence of iron oxides and oxyhydroxides. The highest Hg concentrations were near the mine site at Captains Flat and decreased significantly with distance. Sediment core analyses in both Captains Flat and the lake showed reductions in Hg concentrations toward surficial sediment layers. It is suggested government-funded rehabilitation programs are playing a part in reducing the release of metal contamination.

Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the main source of anthropogenic mercury emissions and contamination in Latin America. In the Brazilian northern Amazon, ASGM has contaminated the environment and people over the past century. The main contamination route is through fish consumption, which endangers the food security and livelihoods of traditional communities. Our study aims to assess the potential toxicological health risks caused by the consumption of Hg-contaminated fish across five regions in Amap&aacute, State. We sampled 428 fish from 18 sites across inland and coastal aquatic systems. We measured the total mercury content in fish samples, and the results were applied to a mercury exposure risk assessment targeting three distinct groups (adults, women of childbearing age, and children). Mercury contamination was found to exceed the World Health Organization&rsquo, s safe limit in 28.7% of all fish samples, with higher prevalence in inland zones. Moreover, the local preference for carnivorous fish species presents a serious health risk, particularly for communities near inland rivers in the region. This is the first study to provide clear recommendations for reducing the mercury exposure through fish consumption in Amap&aacute, State. It builds scientific evidence that helps decision-makers to implement effective policies for protecting the health of riverine communities.

Background: Mercury is a common environmental contaminant and it is also harmful to human health. Among reported toxicities, its harmful effect on hypertension is poorly documented. In Kazakhstan, Temirtau city has been reported to have a high level of mercury contamination from an acetaldehyde production factory. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between serum profile of cytokines and the development of hypertension among the exposed citizens. Methods: We selected 81 individuals for study, out of them, 41 exposed ones suffered hypertension and 40 – unexposed healthy controls in villages Chkalovo, Samarkand, Gagarinskoye, Tegiszhol, Rostovka in 2016. Mercury content in urine was studied by inversion voltammetry. Cytokine levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA. Results: Mercury-exposed citizens, especially those with hypertension, had significantly higher concentrations of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 as compared to the unexposed population. The dependence of the mercury level in urine on IL-2 content was also detected. Therefore, chronic low doses of exposure to mercury were associated with an increase in serum levels of immune markers and with the increased risk of hypertension. Conclusion: The presence of mercury in the body probably affected the expression of interleukin-2, one of the main cytokines that coordinate immune response.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the main source of human exposure to mercury (Hg) in many countries. This study was designed to evaluate total Hg (T-Hg) concentrations in human hair, fish, soil, and air from two major gold-mining districts (GMDs) at the department of Bolivar, Colombia. Total Hg was analyzed using a direct Hg analyzer. The mean T-Hg concentration in hair samples was 3.07 ± 0.14 μg/g (range 0.15-25.1 μg/g; median 2.02 μg/g). The highest Hg level was observed in Mojana GMD, specifically at Achi-La Raya (9.2 ± 0.6 μg/g) and the lowest in Morales, at the Middle Magdalena GMD (1.50 ± 0.16 μg/g). Hair T-Hg values exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference level of 1.0 μg/g. Correlation between T-Hg in hair and stature was negative for the Mojana, but the opposite for Middle Magdalena, although for both GMDs hair T-Hg correlated positively with fish intake. The highest average T-Hg fish concentrations were observed in Caquetaia kraussii (0.37 ± 0.10 μg/g), Sorubim cuspicaudus (0.32 ± 0.16 μg/g), Plagioscion surinamensis (0.22 ± 0.02 μg/g), Trachelyopterus insignis (0.20 ± 0.02 μg/g), and Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum (0.20 ± 0.02 μg/g). Human health risk assessment of Hg based on fish consumption suggested that, with the exception of P. magdalenae, all economically important fish species are potentially harmful for the communities. Soil Hg levels in amalgam burning facilities were extremely high, and Hg in the air around mines and gold-processing shops exceeded international guidelines. In short, Hg pollution in GMDs of Bolivar is extensive, and this situation requires special attention to reduce environmental and human health problems.

In recent years, mercury levels in some predatory fishes of several lakes of South-West France, exceeding the European Union nutritional recommendations threshold for safe consumption have been not...

La baie de Soumbedioune ou s’effectue une importante activite de cueillette et de commercialisation de fruits de mer, constitue le receptacle d’enormes quantites d’eaux usees et de dechets provenant du canal 4 et des activites artisanales qui s’y effectuent. C’est dans ce contexte qu’une etude visant a determiner le niveau de contamination par le mercure des moules (Perna perna) et des oursins (Echinometra lucunter) et a evaluer les risques sanitaires lies a consommation de ces produits a ete realisee. Elle a consiste a collecter des echantillons (crus et transformes) de ces deux especes durant les periodes d’abondance et de non-abondance en 2018. L’analyseur direct de mercure DMA-80 a ete utilise pour determiner teneurs en mercure contenues dans ces especes. Les resultats obtenus apres analyses montrent la presence de ce metal tres toxique dans les parties comestibles de ces especes mais a des concentrations en deca de la norme etablie par l’agence americaine pour la protection de l’environnement. Ces concentrations varient entre 0,0172 et 0,0475 mg.kg-1 pour les moules contre 0,0153 et 0,0274 mg.kg-1 pour les oursins. Les indices de risque sanitaire obtenus (oscillant entre 0,070 et 0,844) sont inferieurs a 1 revelent que la consommation de ces especes reste pour le moment sans danger. Neanmoins, elles devraient etre consommees moderement en raison de la capacite du mercure a se bioaccumuler dans les organismes.br /> Soumbedioune Bay, marked by an intense activity of exploitation and marketing of seafood, is the receptacle of huge quantities of wastewater from channel 4 and artisanal activities which are carried out there. That’s why a study aiming to determine the level of mercury contamination of mussels (Perna perna) and sea urchins (Echinometra lucunter) and to assess the health risks associated with their consumption was performed. It consisted to collect samples (non-transformed and transformed products) of these two species during the periods of abundance and non-abundance in 2018. The direct mercury analyzer DMA-80 was used to determine the mercury contents contained in these species. The results obtained after analyzes show the presence of this very toxic metal in the edible parts of these species but at concentrations below the standard established by the American agency for the protection of the environment. These concentrations vary between 0.0172 and 0.0475 mg.kg-1 for mussels against 0.0153 and 0.0274 mg.kg-1 for sea urchins. The health risk indices obtained (oscillating between 0.070 and 0.844) less than 1 reveal that the consumption of these species remains safe for the moment. However, they should be consumed moderately due to the ability of mercury to bioaccumulate in organisms

Mercury (Hg) is a priority pollutant in aquatic ecosystems. In Germany, the chemical status of all large rivers is classified as “not good” due to the exceedance of at least one environmental quality standard (EQS) of the EU Water Framework Directive [1], mostly due to the failure to meet the EQS for Hg in fish of 20 μg kg-1. Mercury has been introduced to rivers in Germany for more than a century from a variety of anthropogenic sources (e.g., industrial effluents, waste water treatment plants). Transport of Hg in river water occurs dominantly associated with suspended particulate matter, while dissolved Hg concentrations are low. Direct Hg releases to surface waters have been greatly reduced over the last decades and today inputs are dominated by diffuse sources (e.g., atmospheric deposition, soil erosion) and the remobilization of Hg previously deposited in bottom sediments. A key factor in controlling the remobilization and transfer of legacy Hg from sediments to water and ultimately into biota is the chemical form in which Hg is present in sediments and suspended particulate matter.Here, we present (i) historical trends of Hg concentrations in suspended particulate matter in German rivers (e.g., Rhine, Elbe) over several decades compiled from public databases [2] and (ii) first results of a study aiming to characterize the chemical form of Hg in recently collected suspended particulate matter and contaminated sediment samples from German rivers using pyrolytic thermodesorption analysis [3]. The Hg release curves of samples during continuous heating up to 650°C were compared with those of reference compounds. Total Hg concentrations were determined by a direct Hg analyzer (Nippon MA-3000).The historical records reveal that Hg concentrations in suspended particulate matter have decreased in the large German rivers from the beginning of the 1990s until today. For example, while yearly average values of 500-800 μg kg-1 Hg were still common in the lower reaches of the Rhine river in the early 1990s, most values in the last five years have been below 300 μg kg-1 Hg. However, the Elbe river, one of the most polluted rivers in Germany, still exhibits Hg values above 1000 μg kg-1 in some areas, despite a decreasing trend from even higher historical values. First results from pyrolytic thermodesorption analyses reveal that Hg in suspended particulate matter from Rhine and Elbe is released at temperatures around 300°C, suggesting a dominance of organically-bound and/or sulfide-bound Hg(II) species. Interestingly, a shift to lower Hg release temperatures was observed after aging of wet sample material and for freeze-dried compared with wet sediments, highlighting the importance of sample preparation and the dynamic nature of Hg binding forms in natural samples.[1] European Environment Agency (2018) European waters - Assessment of status and pressures 2018.[2] e.g., http://undine.bafg.de, http://fgg-rhein.bafg.de, https://www.umweltprobenbank.de[3] Biester H., Scholz C. (1997) Determination of mercury binding forms in contaminated soils: Mercury pyrolysis versus sequential extractions. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 233-239.

This contribution discusses an example of potential multi-hazard effects resulting from an earthquake in a highly seismogenic area of the Mediterranean Sea, the Augusta Bay, which presents high levels of contamination in sediments and seawater, due particularly to high-concentrations of mercury as a result of a long-term industrial exploitation. In particular, a high-resolution hydrodynamic and transport model is used to calculate the effects of enhanced mercury spreading in the open sea after significant damage and collapse of the artificial damming system confining the embayment where a very high concentration of Hg occurs in seafloor sediments and seawater. Coupling high-resolution 3D dynamic circulation modelling and sediment–seawater Hg fluxes calculated using the HR3DHG diffusion–reaction model for both inorganic and organic Hg species offers a valuable approach to simulating and estimating the effects of spatial dispersion of this contaminant due to unpredictable hazard events in coastal systems, with the potential attendant enhanced effects on the marine ecosystem. The simulated scenario definitely suggests that a combination of natural and anthropogenic multi-hazards calls for a thorough re-thinking of risk management in marine areas characterised by significant levels of contamination and where a deep understanding of the biogeochemical dynamics of pollutants does not cover all the aspects of danger for the environment.

Introduction. Macromycetes include mercury compounds in their metabolism processes. The method for assessing the contamination of the soil layer (topsoil) by mercury by estimating the mercury content in the mushrooms is accessible and sufficiently informative. Mercury is a persistent inorganic ecotoxicant, it enters the human body from the environment. This process requires constant monitoring of the content of this hazardous metal in the environment and the in biomaterials of the human organism. Material and methods. The object of the study was selected bracket macromycetes growing on open soil areas: lawns, boulevards, parks, squares, etc. There were studied representatives from the fungal families as follows: Agaricacea, Boletaceae, Russu-laceae, Coprinaceae. Mushrooms were collected in the stage of sporulation, in the spring-summer-autumn period from 2002 to 2017. The determination of mercury in fungi was performed by atomic absorption method on specialized mercury analyzers of the “Julia” series (detection limit of 1 ng/g, the error of the method is not more than 15%). Mercury content in hair was determined in 1153 St. Petersburg residents aged from 0 to 80 years using atomic emission and mass spectrometry methods with inductively coupled argon plasma on devices Elan 9000 (Perkin Elmer, USA) and Optima 2000 V (Perkin Elmer, USA). Results. The results of the analysis of mushrooms collected in 2017 on one of the green streets of the industrial district of Saint-Petersburg demonstrate a high degree of mercury contamination of the megapolis. Mushrooms (Cinereus comatus) were collected at three locations of Alameda, separated by approximately 100 m, and were analyzed for the content of mercury in them. The following values of mercury in mushrooms were got is a 0.61 mg/kg, 0.83 mg/kg and 0.35 mg/kg. The hair of 1153 inhabitants of St.-Petersburg has been analyzed for mercury content. The highest concentrations of mercury have been established to be set at working population aged 18-64 years. This fact can be explained by the professional activities associated with the contact with mercury and active way of life, particularly with greater frequency of the use in the diet of mushrooms and other products, being potential sources of mercury. Discussion. The performed studies show the mercury concentration to be not only generalized but also stable. The pollution of the territory of St. Petersburg is little different from the pollution of the territories of other cities, where the mercury content in mushrooms is also found to be high in comparison with the permissible level. Conclusion. The obtained data indicate a high stable contamination of the territory of St. Petersburg and its nearest suburbs with mercury. Mercury and its compounds in environmental objects (mushrooms) can present the real danger to the health of the population, therefore there is a need for non-invasive monitoring of the content of mercury in biomaterials of the human organism and environmental objects.

Today, mercury contamination is recognised as one of the most severe issues concerning human health and the environment. Newer methodologies are being developed and implemented for the removal of mercury from industrial wastewater. Among all, solid-liquid adsorption is perceived as the most widely accepted technique on the grounds of simplicity and efficacy. This review highlights published work on the adsorption of HgII onto carbon-based adsorbents. Detailed writings on thermodynamics, isotherm, and kinetics along with adsorption mechanisms have been covered in this review. The fundamental aim of this review is to make readers informed of the advancements that have been made so far for the mercury removal from wastewater using carbon-based adsorbents.

For decades, the region of Baixada Santista has been undergoing an intensive process of industrialization. The area concentrates industrial activities, chemical and petrochemical companies that continuously release expressive amounts of trace metals and several organic pollutants into the ocean, and the estuarine sediments trap and store these contaminant residues. Due to its differentiated characteristics such as high bioaccumulation capacity and high toxicity at low concentrations, Mercury became the target of this study. Results obtained by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (TXRF) presented Hg concentrations of 0.15 to 0.77 mg kg-1 in the sediments of the Santos estuary, with an 88% recovery rate of Certified Sediments. The comparison with other methodologies applied in previous researches shows that this approach has proven to be compatible with previously used techniques, obtaining results consistent with the history of mercury contamination of the estuary within the last 20 years.

One of the main issues in the fluorescent lamp recycling sector is the mercury contamination of output fractions and occupational exposure associated with recycling operations. The aim of this study is to carry out effective mercury mass balance determinations and improve mercury recovery by finding the optimal levels for the recycling process parameters. These optimizations will allow upstream mercury emissions to be reduced, which will help to avoid mercury exposure among WEEE recycling workers. Firstly, the distribution of mercury was assessed in new and spent lamps. For new fluorescent tubes, the mean percentage of mercury in the solid phase is lower in new fluorescent tubes (19.5% with 5.5% in glass, 9.7% in end caps and 4.3% in luminescent powder) than in spent tubes (33.3% with 8.3% in glass, 12.9% in end caps and 12.1% in luminescent powder). The parametric study also shows that the finer the grains of glass, the higher the concentration of mercury (1.2 µg Hg/g for glass size particle1000 µm and 152.0 µg Hg/g for glass size particle100 µm); the crushing time required for the optimal removal of mercury from spent tubes is 24 h; on average 71% of the mercury is desorbed at a temperature of 400 °C. The effects of air flow rate, rotation speed and number of balls could not be determined due to wide variations in the results. It is recommended that recycling companies employ processes combining as heating and mixing techniques for the recovery of mercury from lamps in order to both (i) remove as much of the mercury as possible in vapor form and (ii) avoid adsorption of the mercury at new sites created during the crushing process.

Wildfire frequency has increased in past four decades in Canada and is expected to increase in future as a result of climate change (Wotton et al., 2010). Mercury (Hg) emissions from biomass burning are known to be significant; however, the impact of biomass burning on air concentration and deposition fluxes in Canada has not been previously quantified. We use estimates of burned biomass from FINN (Fire INventory from NCAR) and vegetation-specific emission factors (EFs) of mercury to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of Hg emissions in Canada. We use Environment and Climate Change Canada's GEM-MACH-Hg (Global Environmental Multi-scale, Modelling Air quality and Chemistry model, mercury version) to quantify the impact of biomass burning in Canada on spatiotemporal variability of air concentrations and deposition fluxes of mercury in Canada. We use North American gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) observations (2010–2015), GEM-MACH-Hg, and an inversion technique to optimize the EFs for GEM for five vegetation types represented in North American fires to constrain the biomass burning impacts of mercury. The inversion results suggest that EFs representing more vegetation types – specifically peatland – are required. This is currently limited by the sparseness of measurements of Hg from biomass burning plumes. More measurements of Hg concentration in the air, specifically downwind of fires, would improve the inversions. We use three biomass burning Hg emissions scenarios in Canada to conduct three sets of model simulations for 2010–2015: two scenarios where Hg is emitted only as GEM using literature or optimized EFs and a third scenario where Hg is emitted as GEM using literature EFs and particle bound mercury (PBM) emitted using the average GEM∕PBM ratio from lab measurements. The three biomass burning emission scenarios represent a range of possible values for the impacts of Hg emissions from biomass burning in Canada on Hg concentration and deposition.We find total biomass burning Hg emissions to be highly variable from year to year and estimate average 2010–2015 total atmospheric biomass burning emissions of Hg in Canada to be between 6 and 14 t during the biomass burning season (i.e. from May to September), which is 3–7 times the mercury emission from anthropogenic sources in Canada for this period. On average, 65 % of the emissions occur in the provinces west of Ontario. We find that while emissions from biomass burning have a small impact on surface air concentrations of GEM averaged over individual provinces/territories, the impact at individual sites can be as high as 95 % during burning events. We estimate average annual mercury deposition from biomass burning in Canada to be between 0.3 and 2.8 t, compared to 0.14 t of mercury deposition from anthropogenic sources during the biomass burning season in Canada. Compared to the biomass burning emissions, the relative impact of fires on mercury deposition is shifted eastward, with on average 54 % percent of the deposition occurring in provinces west of Ontario. While the relative contribution of Canadian biomass burning to the total mercury deposition over each province/territory is no more than 9 % between 2010 and 2015, the local contribution in some locations (including areas downwind of biomass burning) can be as high as 80 % (e.g. northwest of Great Slave Lake in 2014) from May to September. We find that northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, central British Columbia, and the area around Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories are at greater risk of mercury contamination from biomass burning. GEM is considered to be the dominant mercury species emitted from biomass burning; however, there remains an uncertainty in the speciation of mercury released from biomass burning. We find that the impact of biomass burning emissions on mercury deposition is significantly affected by the uncertainty in speciation of emitted mercury because PBM is more readily deposited closer to the emission sources than GEM; an addition of ∼ 18 % percent of mercury emission from biomass burning in the form of PBM in the model increases the 6-year average deposition by ∼ 4 times.

Restricted fish consumption due to elevated contaminant levels may limit the intake of essential omega-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n−3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n−3) acids. We analyzed lake- and length-specific mercury and EPA+DHA contents in Walleye (Sander vitreus; Mitchell 1818) from 20 waterbodies in Ontario, Canada, and used this information to calculate the theoretical intake of EPA+DHA when the consumption advisories are followed. The stringent consumption advisory resulted in decreased EPA+DHA intake regardless of the EPA+DHA content in Walleye. Walleye length had a strong impact on the EPA+DHA intake mainly because it was positively correlated with the mercury content and thereby consumption advisories. The highest EPA+DHA intake was achieved when smaller Walleye (30–40cm) were consumed. The strong relationship between the consumption advisory and EPA+DHA intake enabled us to develop a more generic regression equation to estimate EPA+DHA intake from the consumption advisories, which we then applied to an additional 1322 waterbodies across Ontario, and 28 lakes from northern USA for which Walleye contaminant data are available but fatty acid data are missing. We estimate that adequate EPA+DHA intake (>250mgday−1) is achieved in 23% of the studied Ontario lakes, for the general population, when small (30–40cm) Walleye are eaten. Consumption of medium- (41–55cm), and large-sized (60–70cm) Walleye would provide adequate EPA+DHA intake from only 3% and 1% of the lakes, respectively. Our study highlights that mercury contamination, which triggers consumption advisories, strongly limits the suitability of Walleye as the sole dietary source of EPA+DHA to humans. Keywords: Risk-benefit, Mercury, Eicosapentaenoic acid, Docosahexaenoic acid, Sander vitreus, Walleye