- Email: [email protected]
Mercury biogeochemical cycling in mercury contaminated environments
Applied Geochemistry 26 (2011) 153–153
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Geochemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeochem
Preface
Mercury biogeochemical cycling in mercury contaminated environments
Mercury is considered to be a global pollutant, because Hg0 is the predominant form of atmospheric Hg, which has a residence time in the atmosphere of 0.5–2 a (Schroeder and Munthe, 1998). Mercury can be converted into methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic environments and accumulated in the food chain, posing a potential threat to human health. The concern over Hg pollution arises from the health effects caused by MeHg exposure through the consumption of fish and marine products (Clarkson, 1993), and of rice in certain regions (Feng et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2010). Mercury continues to be used in a variety of products and processes all over the world because of its unique properties. Elemental Hg and Hg compounds are used in small-scale mining for Au and Ag; chlor-alkali production; vinyl chloride monomer production; a number of products such as manometers for pressure measurement and control, thermometers, electrical switches, fluorescent lamp bulbs, and dental amalgam fillings; batteries; pharmaceuticals; paints; and laboratory reagents (Hylander and Goodsite, 2006). Production, which uses and disposal of the Hg-containing products and wastes, can result in Hg contamination of the environment. Mercury can be enriched in geological materials in the earth’s crust, such as Hg (cinnabar), non-ferrous metals and coal deposits (Feng and Qiu, 2008). Processing of these resources can also result in Hg contamination of the environment. Mercury-contaminated sites represent an important source of Hg emission to the atmosphere due to volatilisation of Hg from contaminated land and waters (Ebinghaus et al., 1999). Contaminated sites also represent important sources for transboundary movement of Hg through hydrological cycles, particularly in the large river catchments and contaminated coastal regions. Contaminated sites in ecologically sensitive areas may represent considerable health and ecosystem risk due to direct and indirect exposure to Hg and its compounds. Therefore, the biogeochemical cycling of Hg at contaminated sites has been a priority research area in the community of environmental sciences. A special session was organized at the 9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held June 7–12, 2009, in Guiyang, China. There were in total 51 oral and poster presentations for this session. The papers published in this Special Issue were selected from the papers presented in the special session. This volume includes 13 papers related to the subject of the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in Hg-contaminated environments. Six papers (Deng et al.; Li et al.; Søvik et al.; Millan et al.; Wang et al.; Zheng et al.) related to Hg cycling in Hg producing, Pb–Zn mining, Zn smelting and chlor-alkali production areas. Some of these papers (Li et al.; Søvik et al.; Zheng et al.) also discuss contamination and potential health impacts of other environmental contaminants, such as As, Pb, Cd and Se. Five papers (Emili et al.; 0883-2927/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2010.11.012
Ding et al.; Feng et al.; Guedron et al.; Petit et al.) discuss Hg cycling in aquatic systems with Hg contamination from Hg mining, waste water discharge, coal mining, Au mining and Cu–Zn–Au mining, respectively. Castillo et al. investigated Hg distribution in ambient air in the central valley of Costa Rica impacted by volcanic eruptions, and Zhu et al. investigated Hg emission fluxes from a rice paddy field impacted by human activities. This collection of papers presents new data, research and interpretations towards understanding the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in contaminated environments. All of the papers published in this Special Issue were subject to regular peer review using the guidelines established by the journal. We thank all of those who served as peer reviewers whose comments and constructive criticism improved the quality of the papers presented in this issue. We would also like to thank Ron Fuge for helping to edit all the manuscripts. References Clarkson, T.W., 1993. Mercury: major issues in environmental health. Environ. Health Perspect. 100, 31–38. Ebinghaus, R., Turner, R., deLacerda, L., Vasiliev, O., Salomons, W., 1999. Mercury Contaminated Sites: Characterization. Risk Assessment and Remediation. Springer, Berlin. Feng, X., Qiu, G., 2008. Mercury pollution in Guizhou, China – an overview. Sci. Total Environ. 400, 227–237. Feng, X., Li, P., Qiu, G., Wang, S., Li, G., Shang, L., Meng, B., Jiang, H., Bai, W., Li, Z., Fu, X., 2008. Methylmercury exposure through rice intake to inhabitants in Wanshan mercury mining area in Guizhou, China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42, 326–332. Hylander, D.L., Goodsite, E.M., 2006. Environmental costs of mercury pollution. Sci. Total Environ. 368, 352–370. Schroeder, W.H., Munthe, J., 1998. Atmospheric mercury – an overview. Atmos. Environ. 32, 809–822. Zhang, H., Feng, X., Larssen, T., Qiu, G., Vogt, R., 2010. In inland China, rice, rather than fish is the major pathway for methylmercury exposure. Environ. Health Perspect. 118, 1183–1188.
Xinbin Feng State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Road, Guiyang 550002, China E-mail address: [email protected] Gary N. Bigham ExponentÒ, Inc., 15375 SE 30th Place, Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98007, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 30 November 2010
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Geochemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeochem
Preface
Mercury biogeochemical cycling in mercury contaminated environments
Mercury is considered to be a global pollutant, because Hg0 is the predominant form of atmospheric Hg, which has a residence time in the atmosphere of 0.5–2 a (Schroeder and Munthe, 1998). Mercury can be converted into methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic environments and accumulated in the food chain, posing a potential threat to human health. The concern over Hg pollution arises from the health effects caused by MeHg exposure through the consumption of fish and marine products (Clarkson, 1993), and of rice in certain regions (Feng et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2010). Mercury continues to be used in a variety of products and processes all over the world because of its unique properties. Elemental Hg and Hg compounds are used in small-scale mining for Au and Ag; chlor-alkali production; vinyl chloride monomer production; a number of products such as manometers for pressure measurement and control, thermometers, electrical switches, fluorescent lamp bulbs, and dental amalgam fillings; batteries; pharmaceuticals; paints; and laboratory reagents (Hylander and Goodsite, 2006). Production, which uses and disposal of the Hg-containing products and wastes, can result in Hg contamination of the environment. Mercury can be enriched in geological materials in the earth’s crust, such as Hg (cinnabar), non-ferrous metals and coal deposits (Feng and Qiu, 2008). Processing of these resources can also result in Hg contamination of the environment. Mercury-contaminated sites represent an important source of Hg emission to the atmosphere due to volatilisation of Hg from contaminated land and waters (Ebinghaus et al., 1999). Contaminated sites also represent important sources for transboundary movement of Hg through hydrological cycles, particularly in the large river catchments and contaminated coastal regions. Contaminated sites in ecologically sensitive areas may represent considerable health and ecosystem risk due to direct and indirect exposure to Hg and its compounds. Therefore, the biogeochemical cycling of Hg at contaminated sites has been a priority research area in the community of environmental sciences. A special session was organized at the 9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held June 7–12, 2009, in Guiyang, China. There were in total 51 oral and poster presentations for this session. The papers published in this Special Issue were selected from the papers presented in the special session. This volume includes 13 papers related to the subject of the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in Hg-contaminated environments. Six papers (Deng et al.; Li et al.; Søvik et al.; Millan et al.; Wang et al.; Zheng et al.) related to Hg cycling in Hg producing, Pb–Zn mining, Zn smelting and chlor-alkali production areas. Some of these papers (Li et al.; Søvik et al.; Zheng et al.) also discuss contamination and potential health impacts of other environmental contaminants, such as As, Pb, Cd and Se. Five papers (Emili et al.; 0883-2927/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2010.11.012
Ding et al.; Feng et al.; Guedron et al.; Petit et al.) discuss Hg cycling in aquatic systems with Hg contamination from Hg mining, waste water discharge, coal mining, Au mining and Cu–Zn–Au mining, respectively. Castillo et al. investigated Hg distribution in ambient air in the central valley of Costa Rica impacted by volcanic eruptions, and Zhu et al. investigated Hg emission fluxes from a rice paddy field impacted by human activities. This collection of papers presents new data, research and interpretations towards understanding the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in contaminated environments. All of the papers published in this Special Issue were subject to regular peer review using the guidelines established by the journal. We thank all of those who served as peer reviewers whose comments and constructive criticism improved the quality of the papers presented in this issue. We would also like to thank Ron Fuge for helping to edit all the manuscripts. References Clarkson, T.W., 1993. Mercury: major issues in environmental health. Environ. Health Perspect. 100, 31–38. Ebinghaus, R., Turner, R., deLacerda, L., Vasiliev, O., Salomons, W., 1999. Mercury Contaminated Sites: Characterization. Risk Assessment and Remediation. Springer, Berlin. Feng, X., Qiu, G., 2008. Mercury pollution in Guizhou, China – an overview. Sci. Total Environ. 400, 227–237. Feng, X., Li, P., Qiu, G., Wang, S., Li, G., Shang, L., Meng, B., Jiang, H., Bai, W., Li, Z., Fu, X., 2008. Methylmercury exposure through rice intake to inhabitants in Wanshan mercury mining area in Guizhou, China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42, 326–332. Hylander, D.L., Goodsite, E.M., 2006. Environmental costs of mercury pollution. Sci. Total Environ. 368, 352–370. Schroeder, W.H., Munthe, J., 1998. Atmospheric mercury – an overview. Atmos. Environ. 32, 809–822. Zhang, H., Feng, X., Larssen, T., Qiu, G., Vogt, R., 2010. In inland China, rice, rather than fish is the major pathway for methylmercury exposure. Environ. Health Perspect. 118, 1183–1188.
Xinbin Feng State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Road, Guiyang 550002, China E-mail address: [email protected] Gary N. Bigham ExponentÒ, Inc., 15375 SE 30th Place, Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98007, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 30 November 2010