Mercury concentrations in surface waters from fluvial systems draining historical precious metals mining areas ink southeastern U.S.A. |
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| Institution: | 1. Hagler Bailly, Inc., 1881 9th St., Suite 201,Boulder, CO 80302,USA;2. Department of Geology, Box 870338, University of Alabama,Tuscaloosa, AL 35487,USA;1. Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Podbrzezie 3, 31-054 Krakow, Poland;2. Avian Ecophysiology Unit, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland;3. School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, KT1 2EE Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, UK;1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8, Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan;2. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10, W5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0860, Japan;1. Division of Radiology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy;2. Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy;3. Post-graduate School of Radiodiagnostics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy;4. Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy;5. Applied Statistics Unit, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy;6. Division of Senology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy;7. Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy;1. Université de Bordeaux, UMR 5805 EPOC, Allée Geoffroy St. Hilaire, CS50023, 33615, Pessac, France;2. CBET Research Group, Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Science and Technology Faculty and Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE-UPV/EHU), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), PO Box 644, E-48080, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain;3. IFREMER Nantes, Centre Atlantique, Rue de l''Ile d''Yeu, BP 21105, 44311, Nantes Cedex 03, France |
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| Abstract: | This study evaluates several southern Appalachian Piedmont mining districts for Hg contamination in surface waters and determines potential relationships between Hg discharged from historical mining operations and site-specific physical factors. Water samples were collected from 3 fluvial systems that drain areas where Hg was used to amalgamate Au from ore during the 19th century. Each of the fluvial systems exhibit similar physical characteristics such as climate, vegetation, and rock type. Total Hg (HgT) determinations were made using cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectroscopy techniques. Concentrations of HgT in the southern Appalachian Piedmont range from 1–3 ng l?1 in waters of the Arbacoochee, Alabama, and South Mountains, North Carolina, Mining Districts to 13 ng l?1 in waters of the Dahlonega Mining District in Georgia. The correlation between HgT and total suspended solids (TSS) at the southern Appalachian sites was good with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.82. A clear trend between environmentally-available Fe (FeE) and HgT (r2=0.86) was also evident. The correlation between HgT and FeE most likely reflects similarities in the mechanisms that control the aqueous concentrations of both metals (i.e., the particle-reactive nature of the two elements), allowing for the sorption of Hg onto Fe-oxyhydroxides. Hence, increased loads of TSS from erosional events are probably responsible for higher stream water HgT concentrations. Vegetation at these sites, which is heavy due to the warm, humid climate of the SE, may help reduce the total amount of Hg released from contaminated mining sites to the rivers by controlling erosion, hence, decreasing the input of contaminated particles into streams and rivers.These southern Appalachian mining sites used Hg amalgamation techniques similar to those used in other precious metals mining districts, such as the highly contaminated Comstock Au–Ag district in Nevada, yet HgT concentrations are orders of magnitude lower; This difference in concentration between the southern Appalachian districts and the Comstock district may correlate to the relative amounts of Hg that were used in each. However, other variables were evaluated to determine if physio-chemical differences such as climate could influence HgT concentrations in surface waters of the two areas. |
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