Mercury inputs into the Amazon Region, Brazil

Pfeiffer, Wolfgang C.; Lacerda, Luiz Drude de

doi:10.1080/09593338809384573

Cited by 173 publications

(86 citation statements)

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“…According to Pfeiffer and Lacerda (1988), 55 % of the mercury used in gold mining operations is lost to the atmosphere, among others through amalgam burning. However, no correlation with the distance from the mining operation could be found (unpublished data).…”

Section: Mercury Levels In Pristine Areas In Surinamementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Levels in Pristine and Gold Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystems of Suriname, South America

Ouboter

Landburg

Quik³

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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Mercury levels in sediment and predatory fish were measured for 53 localities in Suriname. The average mercury level in bottom sediment surpassed the Canadian standard for sediment in most localities, except the coastal plains. Of the predatory fish, 41 % had a mercury level above the European Union standard for human consumption of 0.5 lg g -1 . Highest mercury levels were found in fish from the Brokopondo Reservoir and from the Upper Coppename River. High levels of mercury in fish in pristine areas are explained by atmospheric transportation of mercury with the northeastern trade winds followed by wet deposition. Contrary to gold mining areas, where mercury is bound to drifting sediments, in ''pristine'' areas the mercury is freely available for bio-accumulation and uptake. Impacts on piscivorous reptiles, birds, and mammals are unknown, but likely to be negative.

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Section: Mercury Levels In Pristine Areas In Surinamementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the mercury used in gold mining operations, approximately 55 % is lost to the atmosphere and 45 % is lost to streams (Pfeiffer and Lacerda 1988). If the estimate of the gold production by Veiga (1997) is correct, at least 10 000-20 000 kg of mercury is released into the environment of Suriname annually.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Levels in Pristine and Gold Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystems of Suriname, South America

Ouboter

Landburg

Quik³

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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“…About 60% of this mercury is believed to be were lost to the atmosphere and 40% went directly to the watercourses (Pfeiffer & Lacerda, 1988). Although gold mining in the Brazilian portion of the Madeira River basin has decreased significantly from 1995 onwards to about 0.3 to 0.5 t.yr -1 nowadays, the activities continued and even increased in the Bolivian side of the basin, and the Hg released there eventually drains into the Madeira River from its major Bolivian tributaries (Maurice-Bourgoin et al, 2000).…”

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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“…Gold mining of alluvial sediments using amalgamation is one of the greatest contributions for the Amazon mercury (Hg) contamination (Pfeiffer and Lacerda 1988;Pfeiffer et al 1991;Malm 1998). This is followed by deforestation and forest burning (Lacerda 1995), degassing from soils (Almeida et al 2005) together with loss by soil erosion (Roulet et al1999;Roulet et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood pulse and spatial dynamics of mercury in sediments in Puruzinho lake, Brazilian Amazon

et al. 2014

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The study was conducted in Puruzinho lake (Humaitá, AM) considering seasonal periods of rainy and dry in way to elucidate the flood pulse importance in the deposition, remobilization and distributions of mercury and organic matter in bottom sediments in the Madeira River Basin (Brazilian Amazon). Bottom sediments and soils samples were analyzed for total mercury and organic matter. Mercury concentrations obtained in bottom sediment were 32.20-146.40 ng g -1 and organic matter values were 3.5 -18.0%. The main region for accumulation of mercury and organic matter was in the central and deepest lake area In the rainy season there was a greater distribution of Hg and organic matter, mainly controlled by means of income of the Madeira river water during flooding, while the predominant process in the dry season was the remobilization of total Hg due to the resuspension of bottom sediments.

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Mercury inputs into the Amazon Region, Brazil

Cited by 173 publications

References 1 publication

Mercury Levels in Pristine and Gold Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystems of Suriname, South America

Mercury Levels in Pristine and Gold Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystems of Suriname, South America

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

Flood pulse and spatial dynamics of mercury in sediments in Puruzinho lake, Brazilian Amazon

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