Analysis of mercury concentration in former mine areas in Slovakia

Abstract

Abstract Background Mercury is ubiquitous in the biosphere, occurring in the air, water, land, and soil, as well as in the living organisms. Mercury release in the environment is mainly the result of human activity, particularly from coal-fired power stations, waste incinerators and as a result of mining for mercury and other metals, which have led to wide spread global mercury pollution. The excessive exposure to mercury is a public health concern since it is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects including damage to the central nervous system and the kidneys. Mercury poses a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life. We answer the question whether the monitoring of mercury is important even though the ore processing factories ended their production. Methods A total of 5,579 samples of foodstuffs from food retails in Slovakia and 24 species of plants within 100 meters to the former ore processing factory in Eastern Slovakia have been collected over the last two decades. The samples were selected randomly and the material was homogenized. Atomic absorption spectrometry standard solutions for mercury were used at a wavelength of 254 nm. Results The maximum mercury level set by the European Commission Regulation was exceeded in 314 samples. 50.52% of the total 384 fish samples from food retails in Slovakia were above the limit. The concentrations of mercury in the plants and in the soils taken to a depth of 0.25 m exceeded the maximum levels more than 6-times and 50-times, respectively. Conclusions The acceptance of mercurýs environmental impacts require several decades of research and public health activities. The monitoring of mercury worldwide is important, since we found that the end of ore processing does not solve the issue of contamination. We recommend developing procedures and legislation for the consumption of selected foods from the areas of ore processing companies for children, adolescents, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Key messages The systematic monitoring of mercury is still very important, since we found that the end of ore processing does not solve the issue of contamination in the former ore processing areas. It is not recommend the consumption of selected foods and plants from the former ore processing areas for selected groups of the population – children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.