An assessment of Hg pollution in different goldmining areas, Amazon Brazil

Malm, Olaf; Castro, M.B.; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues; Branches, Fernando J.P.; Guimarães, Jean Rémy Davée; Zuffo, Catia Eliza; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang C.

doi:10.1016/0048-9697(95)04909-6

Cited by 103 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…4.1). GEM concentrations in and around point sources are not only higher than at background sites, but they can also vary by multiple orders of magnitude (Carpi and Chen, 2001;Liu et al, 2009;Malm et al, 1995). If the primary mandate of a PAS is the characterization of such concentration variability close to sources (rationales B and C), the accuracy and precision of the PAS's SR need not be as high as for PASs recording background levels, where variability is low.…”

Section: Tightly Controlled Sampling Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive air sampling of gaseous elemental mercury: a critical review

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Because gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is distributed globally through the atmosphere, reliable means of measuring its concentrations in air are important. Passive air samplers (PASs), designed to be cheap, simple to operate, and to work without electricity, could provide an alternative to established active sampling techniques in applications such as (1) long-term monitoring of atmospheric GEM levels in remote regions and in developing countries, (2) atmospheric mercury source identification and characterization through finely resolved spatial mapping, and (3) the recording of personal exposure to GEM. An effective GEM PAS requires a tightly constrained sampling rate, a large and stable uptake capacity, and a sensitive analytical technique. None of the GEM PASs developed to date achieve levels of accuracy and precision sufficient for the reliable determination of background concentrations over extended deployments. This is due to (1) sampling rates that vary due to meteorological factors and manufacturing inconsistencies, and/or (2) an often low, irreproducible and/or unstable uptake capacity of the employed sorbents. While we identify shortcomings of existing GEM PAS, we also reveal potential routes to overcome those difficulties. Activated carbon and nanostructured metal surfaces hold promise as effective sorbents. Sampler designs incorporating diffusive barriers should be able to notably reduce the influence of wind on sampling rates.

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Section: Tightly Controlled Sampling Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive air sampling of gaseous elemental mercury: a critical review

et al. 2016

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“…Little is known regarding Hg bioaccumulation as a function of hydrological cycles in the Amazonian ecosystem (Dorea & Barbosa, 2007). Moreover, previous studies in the Amazon and other areas have determined that fish is the main route of mercury contamination to the population, especially villages along the river, where contaminated fish is the main protein source (Malm et al, 1995;Bastos et al, 2007). The tolerance limit recommended for consumption by the WHO is 0.50mg.kg -1 for carnivorous and 0.30mg.kg -1 for non-carnivorous fishes (IPCS, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A description of mercury in fishes from the Madeira River Basin, Amazon, Brazil

et al. 2008

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Over the last 20 years several projects carried on the Madeira River basin in the Amazon produced a great amount data on total Hg concentration in different fish species. In this paper we discuss temporal trends in Hg contamination and its relation to body weight in some of those fishes, showing that even within similar groups, such as carnivorous and non-migratory fish, the interspecies variability in Hg accumulation is considerable.

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“…Neste, a maior similaridade observada entre mercúrio e argila, possivelmente está relacionada à elevada área superficial das partículas finas de argila, possuindo uma maior capacidade de adsorção, sendo a argila considerada um importante fator na adsorção de mercúrio em solos. 23 Roulet et al 15 determinaram concentrações de mercúrio em diferentes frações granulométricas em amostras de solos de formação em Alter do chão, na Amazônia central, obtendo teores cerca de 2 a 7 vezes maiores nas frações finas (argila) que nas frações médias (silte) e grossas (areia), indicando forte interação entre mercúrio e argila, corroborando com o observado nas análises estatísticas deste trabalho. Além disso, o tipo de argila presente nos solos influencia diretamente na retenção de mercúrio.…”

Section: Figura 3 Porcentagens De Mercúrio Total Nas Amostras De Solunclassified