Contamination by mercury of groundwater of the North Numidian zone of Azzaba, North East Algeria. Effect of inorganic mercury contamination of population

Abstract

The mercury ore deposit of Azzaba is located on the northern flank of the limestone chain, south of Azzaba town, North East Algeria. Nineteen springs and wells from the two aquifers were sampled for chemical analyses. Water of the Oligocene aquifer shows high Hg contents (up to 80 (g.L –1 ) whereas in the deep aquifer, Hg contents do not exceed 7 μg.L –1 ). School children of the Azzaba region have a mean rate of 2.50 (g.G –1 ) compared to 0.45 μg.G –1 ) for those of Annaba. The mercury norm is largely exceeded in the groundwater as well as in the population living in the Azzaba region.