Field studies using the oyster Crassostrea virginica to determine mercury accumulation and depuration rates

Mercury as an environmental hazard, especially with regard to human health, has been of concern since the Minamata disaster. From 1966 to 1970 a chlor-alkali plant in Point Comfort, Texas released mercury-enriched wastewater (up to 29.9 kgHg/day) into Lavaca Bay (TWQB 1977). Since 1970 the Texas Department of Health (TDH) has periodically closed and then re-opened portions of Lavaca Bay to the harvesting of crabs and finfish based on their levels ( 0.5 ppm Hg wet weight) of mercury. A 1988 closure remains in effect as of this writing. Mercury contamination in Lavaca Bay organisms thus continues to be a problem 22 years after the chlor-alkali plant ceased releasing mercury into the bay. The goal of the following research was to better understand the behavior of mercury in Lavaca Bay. Oysters have been widely used as indicator species in metal pollution studies. Most such programs have focused on the concentrations of metals in oysters from different geographic areas. This study, however, investigated the rate and amount of mercury a [open quotes]clean[close quotes] oyster would accumulate when transplanted to a contaminated estuary and the rate of mercury depuration by contaminated oysters placed in a clean environment. The oysters were additionally analyzed formore » Ba, Cu, Fe, P, and Zn to test for the possible involvement of these metals in mercury accumulation and depuration. 17 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less