Abstract
This study examined variation in MeHg (methyl mercury(II)) binding to humic and fulvic acids using GPC/HG-ICP-MS (gel permeation chromatography/hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry). Binding capacities of extracted fulvic acids for MeHg ranged between 6.65 × 10-11 and 2.37 × 10-10 mol/mg of DOC (dissolved organic carbon) as compared to between 2.96 × 10-10 and 9.59 × 10-10 mol/mg of DOC for extracted humic acids (i.e., 2−14 times higher). MeHg binding to fulvic acids increased at higher molecular sizes, but binding to humic acids was not related to molecular size. In the past, some mercury cycling models have used total sulfur as a proxy for thiol groups (the principal sites for MeHg binding). We show that total sulfur is not a good estimate of MeHg−DOC binding and that its use would result in underestimates of mercury biomagnification in food chains.
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