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Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments

Aquatic ecosystems are an essential component of the biogeochemical cycle of mercury (Hg), as inorganic Hg can be converted to toxic methylmercury (MeHg) in these environments and reemissions of elemental Hg rival anthropogenic Hg releases on a global scale. Quantification of effluent Hg releases to...

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Autores principales: Kocman, David, Wilson, Simon J., Amos, Helen M., Telmer, Kevin H., Steenhuisen, Frits, Sunderland, Elsie M., Mason, Robert P., Outridge, Peter, Horvat, Milena
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5334692/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28157152
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14020138
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author Kocman, David
Wilson, Simon J.
Amos, Helen M.
Telmer, Kevin H.
Steenhuisen, Frits
Sunderland, Elsie M.
Mason, Robert P.
Outridge, Peter
Horvat, Milena
author_facet Kocman, David
Wilson, Simon J.
Amos, Helen M.
Telmer, Kevin H.
Steenhuisen, Frits
Sunderland, Elsie M.
Mason, Robert P.
Outridge, Peter
Horvat, Milena
author_sort Kocman, David
collection PubMed
description Aquatic ecosystems are an essential component of the biogeochemical cycle of mercury (Hg), as inorganic Hg can be converted to toxic methylmercury (MeHg) in these environments and reemissions of elemental Hg rival anthropogenic Hg releases on a global scale. Quantification of effluent Hg releases to aquatic systems globally has focused on discharges to the global oceans, rather than contributions to freshwater systems that affect local exposures and risks associated with MeHg. Here we produce a first-estimate of sector-specific, spatially resolved global aquatic Hg discharges to freshwater systems. We compare our release estimates to atmospheric sources that have been quantified elsewhere. By analyzing available quantitative and qualitative information, we estimate that present-day global Hg releases to freshwater environments (rivers and lakes) associated with anthropogenic activities have a lower bound of ~1000 Mg·a(−1). Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) represents the single largest source, followed by disposal of mercury-containing products and domestic waste water, metal production, and releases from industrial installations such as chlor-alkali plants and oil refineries. In addition to these direct anthropogenic inputs, diffuse inputs from land management activities and remobilization of Hg previously accumulated in terrestrial ecosystems are likely comparable in magnitude. Aquatic discharges of Hg are greatly understudied and further constraining associated data gaps is crucial for reducing the uncertainties in the global biogeochemical Hg budget.
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spelling pubmed-53346922017-03-16 Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments Kocman, David Wilson, Simon J. Amos, Helen M. Telmer, Kevin H. Steenhuisen, Frits Sunderland, Elsie M. Mason, Robert P. Outridge, Peter Horvat, Milena Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Aquatic ecosystems are an essential component of the biogeochemical cycle of mercury (Hg), as inorganic Hg can be converted to toxic methylmercury (MeHg) in these environments and reemissions of elemental Hg rival anthropogenic Hg releases on a global scale. Quantification of effluent Hg releases to aquatic systems globally has focused on discharges to the global oceans, rather than contributions to freshwater systems that affect local exposures and risks associated with MeHg. Here we produce a first-estimate of sector-specific, spatially resolved global aquatic Hg discharges to freshwater systems. We compare our release estimates to atmospheric sources that have been quantified elsewhere. By analyzing available quantitative and qualitative information, we estimate that present-day global Hg releases to freshwater environments (rivers and lakes) associated with anthropogenic activities have a lower bound of ~1000 Mg·a(−1). Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) represents the single largest source, followed by disposal of mercury-containing products and domestic waste water, metal production, and releases from industrial installations such as chlor-alkali plants and oil refineries. In addition to these direct anthropogenic inputs, diffuse inputs from land management activities and remobilization of Hg previously accumulated in terrestrial ecosystems are likely comparable in magnitude. Aquatic discharges of Hg are greatly understudied and further constraining associated data gaps is crucial for reducing the uncertainties in the global biogeochemical Hg budget. MDPI 2017-02-01 2017-02 /pmc/articles/PMC5334692/ /pubmed/28157152 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14020138 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Kocman, David
Wilson, Simon J.
Amos, Helen M.
Telmer, Kevin H.
Steenhuisen, Frits
Sunderland, Elsie M.
Mason, Robert P.
Outridge, Peter
Horvat, Milena
Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title_full Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title_fullStr Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title_full_unstemmed Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title_short Toward an Assessment of the Global Inventory of Present-Day Mercury Releases to Freshwater Environments
title_sort toward an assessment of the global inventory of present-day mercury releases to freshwater environments
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5334692/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28157152
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14020138
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