Mercury pollution from artisanal mercury mining in Tongren, Guizhou, China

Abstract

Abstract Concentrations of total Hg (T-Hg) were measured in mine waste, stream water, soil and moss samples collected from the Tongren area, Guizhou, China to identify potential Hg contamination to local environments, which has resulted from artisanal Hg mining. Mine waste contained high T-Hg concentrations, ranging from 1.8 to 900 mg/kg. High concentrations of Hg were also found in the leachates of mine waste, confirming that mine waste contains significant water-soluble Hg compounds. Total Hg distribution patterns in soil profiles showed that top soil is contaminated with Hg, which has been derived from atmospheric deposition. Data suggest that organic matter plays an important role in the binding and transport of Hg in soil. Elevated T-Hg concentrations (5.9–44 mg/kg) in moss samples suggest that atmospheric deposition is the dominant source of Hg to local terrestrial ecosystems. Concentrations of T-Hg were highly elevated in stream water samples, varying from 92 to 2300 ng/L. Particulate Hg in water constituted a large proportion of the T-Hg and played a major role in Hg transport. Methyl–Hg (Me–Hg) concentrations in the water samples was as high as 7.9 ng/L. Data indicate that Hg contamination is dominantly from artisanal Hg mining in the study area, but the extent of Hg contamination is dependent on the mining history and the scale of artisanal Hg mining.