Effect of Point and Diffuse Source Loadings on Mercury Concentrations in the Wabigoon River: Evidence of a Seasonally Varying Sediment–Water Partition

Parks, J. W.; Sutton, J. A.; Lutz, Arthur

doi:10.1139/f86-176

Cited by 25 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…In accordance with studies made by Parks in 1986, the mercury methylation in the sediment is also correlated with pH (Parks et al 1986). In aquatic ecosystems, pH values between 4.7 and 6.0 have favorable physic-chemical characteristics to the Hg methylate.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The differences found in each sampling sites were significant and due to the different accumulation of organic substances in these places (Table 1), as demonstrated by the test of Tukey HSD ( p < 0.05) and Bonferroni ( p < 0.00833). The maximum measured values during the dry season (April and August) would be probably derived from launchings of organic waste in the gutter of the river, as well as observed in flooded areas of the Amazon river by Roulet (Roulet et al 2001;Parks et al 1986). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Mercury concentration in fish from Piracicaba River (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Arantes¹,

Pinto²,

Mangabeira³

et al. 2008

Environ Monit Assess

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Mercury emissions from some upstream gold mining areas and recent findings of high natural Hg levels in sediments motivated studies on the Hg cycle in the Minas Gerais state. The study presents the total mercury amount found in Geophagus brasiliensis' muscular tissue (wet weight) and sediments from Piracicaba River. Mercury was analyzed using acid digestion followed by determination of total mercury by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry. This study was also complemented with the analysis of the limnological parameters (water temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids, suspended particles, pH, dissolved oxygen, maximum depth, photic index and total carbon). The mercury concentration in sediments samples was higher than the mercury concentration in muscular tissue of fish. The lowest Hg level measured in fish was 0.0147 microg g( - 1), while the highest was 0.101 microg g( - 1). In the sediment samples, the lowest and highest levels were 0.02 microg g( - 1) and 0.16 microg g( - 1), respectively. The Hg concentrations in fish and sediment were both under the maximum limit permitted by the World Health Organization.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Mercury concentration in fish from Piracicaba River (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Arantes¹,

Pinto²,

Mangabeira³

et al. 2008

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Other water chemistry results (e.g., chloride, sulphate, conductivity) indicate that water quality in the Wainwright Dam area during this study was very near background conditions; hence, the mill loadings discharged prior to the study has been flushed downstream (Parks et aL, 1986).…”

Section: Partitioning Cycling and Fate Of Anthropogenic Mercurymentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The immediate effects of the mill loadings were largely restricted to the Dryden area as mercury concentrations at the inflow to Clay Lake fluctuated an order of magnitude and were independent of upstream random mill loadings (Fig. 10, Parks et al, 1986). The importance of mill loadings decreased with distance downstream as other diffuse sources contributed to the problem (Fig.…”

Section: Mercury Sources -Identified and Potentialmentioning

confidence: 98%

Accelerating recovery of the mercury-contaminated Wabigoon/English River system

Parks

Hamilton

1987

Hydrobiologia

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Mercury levels (essentially methyl mercury -MeHg) in sportfish in a 250 km section of the WabigoonEnglish River system remain seriously elevated as a result if the discharge of approximately 10 tonnes of inorganic Hg from a chlor-alkali plant at Dryden, Ontario, Canada which occurred primarily between 1962 and 1970. The discharges resulted in elevated mercury concentrations in water, sediments and biota. For example, Hg in adult Northern Pike inClay Lake routinely exceeded 3/~g/g (ppm). Field studies in 1978-81 suggest that partitioning of inorganic and MeHg between surface sediment, water and suspended particles occurs within days. MeHg levels in water were partitioned with total (essentially inorganic) Hg. Temperature affects both Hg and MeHg levels in water; concentrations fluctuated seasonally by an order of magnitude at some sites. Hg in contaminated surface sediments is almost certainly the primary source of the mercury now entering the water and biota in this contaminated watercourse. Mercury levels in biota decline less dramatically with distance downstream of Dryden than mercury concentrations in sediments. Natural erosion, resuspension and sedimentation processes have helped to reduce the amount of mercury in the active layer at the sediment/water interface and the most effective means of accelerating the recovery of the system will probably involve measures to accelerate these natural processes. Enclosure experiments, regional surveys and geochemical studies all provide evidence that the biological uptake of upstream anthropogenic Hg loadings at any given site would likely be reduced dramatically by the continuous addition of very modest quantities of pristine clay sediment. The quantities contemplated, when resuspended, would result in suspended solids concentrations on the order of 15-25 ppm, a value higher than for most shield waters but well within the range of many other productive watercourses in North America. The ability to mitigate local sources and ameliorate the adverse biological effects of anthropogenic loadings from upstream sources by resuspension of clean clay sediments permits 'targeting' of sites for restoration and opens a wide array of ameliorative options. The authors believe that some of these options would be more effective and less costly than other restoration procedures commonly considered such as dredging and on land disposal of contaminated sediment.

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“…W., 1980W., , TESSIER et al, 1980W., , 1982, les apports des sédiments à partir des affluents (WOLFENDEN et LEWIN, 1977;BRADLEY et Cox, 1986;PARKS et al, 1986;LEENAERS ef al., 1988), la teneur en matière organique des sédiments (ELLIOT ef al., 1986) et la composition minéralogique du sédiment (KlNNlBURGH ef al., 1976;CAVALLARO et MC BRIDE, 1984 ;KUO, 1986 ;ZlPER ef al., 1988 ;SONG et al, 1999).…”

Section: Sédimentsunclassified

Oued Moulouya: vecteur de transport des métaux lourds (Maroc)

Bouabdli¹,

Saïdi²,

M'Baret³

et al. 2005

rseau

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Les mines qui sont abandonnées avec leurs installations minières et métallurgiques constituent un exemple représentatif du transfert des éléments métalliques dans l’écosystème. Au Maroc, le site minier d’Aouli est drainé par l’oued Moulouya (l’unique oued de la région) d’une longueur de 520 km avec un bassin versant d’une superficie d’environ 50.000 km2. A travers ce travail, nous avons déterminé un certain nombre de paramètres chimiques afin de voir la destinée de certains métaux (Pb, Zn, Cu et Cd) issue de ce district minier abandonné. Les résultats ont montré que dans l’eau, dans les matières en suspension et dans les sédiments, il y a une contamination métallique due à la mine d’Aouli situé au niveau de la Haute Moulouya ; tandis qu’au niveau de la Basse Moulouya, l’affluent oued Za contribue à cette contamination par un apport anthropique qui résulte en une augmentation des teneurs en cadmium, plomb et zinc. L’effet de cette contamination externe est également mis en évidence par les caractères géochimiques d’une station témoin situé en amont de l’oued loin de toute influence minière. L’examen des rapports des différents éléments (Cd, Pb et Cu) par rapport au Zn dans les sédiments montre qu’ils sont préservés dans les sédiments en aval (Basse Moulouya). Par contre, au niveau de la Haute et la Moyenne Moulouya, on assiste à une diminution des rapports Cu/Zn et Cd/Zn et une augmentation du rapport Pb/Zn au niveau de la station S3; ce qui reflète l’effet de la mine d’Aouli. L’augmentation des rapports au niveau des stations S1 et S4 sont en relation avec la présence d’algues et qui jouent un rôle important dans la modification des teneurs en Zn dans les sédiments. L’étude de ces rapports a permis de confirmer que dans notre cas aucun effet notable dû aux apports des affluents n’est mis en évidence sur le contrôle des concentrations des éléments dans les sédiments de l’oued Moulouya. Cette particularité permet de suggérer que dans la cas de l’oued Moulouya la dilution physique est plus importante que la mobilisation chimique et permet d’expliquer le déclin en aval des concentrations des éléments métalliques.

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Effect of Point and Diffuse Source Loadings on Mercury Concentrations in the Wabigoon River: Evidence of a Seasonally Varying Sediment–Water Partition

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

Mercury concentration in fish from Piracicaba River (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Mercury concentration in fish from Piracicaba River (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Accelerating recovery of the mercury-contaminated Wabigoon/English River system

Oued Moulouya: vecteur de transport des métaux lourds (Maroc)

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