Biochar amendment mitigates the health risks of dietary methylmercury exposure from rice consumption in mercury-contaminated areas

Abstract

The accumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in rice is an important MeHg exposure pathway in humans in several mercury (Hg)-contaminated areas. In this study, the effects of low-dose biochar (BC) amendment (0.3%, w/w) on MeHg mobility/phytoavailability in different Hg-contaminated paddy soils, MeHg accumulation in rice plants and the health risks associated with MeHg-laden rice consumption were investigated. Soils amended with different doses of bamboo-derived BC (0.3, 0.5, and 1%, w/w) were incubated under anoxic conditions in microcosm experiments. In addition, pot experiments were conducted involving rice cultivation with a low BC application rate (0.3%, w/w). We observed that (1) the fraction of extractable MeHg in soils decreased with BC addition in both the microcosm and pot experiments; (2) MeHg concentrations in the rice grains (brown rice) significantly decreased by 56–88% in response to BC amendment, which may be attributed mainly to decreases in MeHg mobility/phytoavailability in the soil; and (3) the hazard quotient (HQ) values for adults and children and fetal intelligence quotient (IQ) decrements associated with MeHg-laden rice consumption were significantly alleviated under BC amendment. Taken together, our findings suggest that a low dose of BC (0.3%, w/w) could have great potential for mitigating the health risks of dietary MeHg exposure from the consumption of rice grown in mercury (Hg)-contaminated areas.