Abstract
Background.The primary environmental risk associated with artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities in Sekotong and Taliwang is waste discharged directly into the environment. This waste contains variable concentrations of heavy metals and a high level of mercury. When these elements are released into the environment, plants and animals can be contaminated. If mercury is methylated to methylmercury, levels can increase in concentration at each level of the food chain (biomagnify). Fish are a primary risk vector for methylmercury poisoning in humans, and represent a significant source of protein for the Sekotong and Taliwang communities.Objectives.The present study aimed to identify the concentration of mercury in fish from ASGM sites in Sekotong and Taliwang.Methods.Descriptive research was used to describe the mercury concentrations of fish in the present study. The fish species collected for the samples represented commercially available fish most commonly consumed by the community on a daily basis.Results.In Sekotong's ASGM area, the mercury concentration in Pilsbryoconcha exilis tissue was 596 ppb, 721 ppb for Sephia officinalis and 50% of the Euthynnus affinis samples had a high level of mercury, above the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum permissable limit for the sale of fish for human consumption of 0.5 ppb.Conclusions.Some fish species from the studied ASGM sites had high mercury concentrations above the maximum permissible mercury concentration in edible fish tissue. The risks associated with mercury exposure from fish consumption threaten community health.Ethics Approval.All experiments were performed in accordance with relevant local guidelines and regulations.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Highlights
The use of mercury (Hg) to recover gold in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities has contributed to widespread mercury contamination of aquatic systems in many areas worldwide.[1,2,3,4,5] Across ASGM areas in Indonesia, it is common to see waste from ASGM activities discharged directly into agricultural lands and water bodies that empty into the sea.[6]Mercury species are present in aqueous media, including methylmercury
In Sekotong’s ASGM area, the mercury concentration in Pilsbryoconcha exilis tissue was 596 ppb, 721 ppb for Sephia officinalis and 50% of the Euthynnus affinis samples had a high level of mercury, above the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum permissable limit for the sale of fish for human consumption of 0.5 ppb
Previous studies have found that mercury concentrations in fish tissue were correlated with age, length, and weight of fish, but in the present study, there were no significant differences between fish length, weight and Hg concentration at a significance level of p>0.05 and Table 1 indicates that there was a substantial variation in fish growth rate.[11,18]
Summary
The use of mercury (Hg) to recover gold in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities has contributed to widespread mercury contamination of aquatic systems in many areas worldwide.[1,2,3,4,5] Across ASGM areas in Indonesia, it is common to see waste from ASGM activities discharged directly into agricultural lands and water bodies that empty into the sea.[6]Mercury species are present in aqueous media, including methylmercury. The primary environmental risk associated with artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities in Sekotong and Taliwang is waste discharged directly into the environment. This waste contains variable concentrations of heavy metals and a high level of mercury. The present study aimed to identify the concentration of mercury in fish from ASGM sites in Sekotong and Taliwang. In Sekotong’s ASGM area, the mercury concentration in Pilsbryoconcha exilis tissue was 596 ppb, 721 ppb for Sephia officinalis and 50% of the Euthynnus affinis samples had a high level of mercury, above the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum permissable limit for the sale of fish for human consumption of 0.5 ppb. Fish may accumulate high levels of mercury and can act as a pathway for the mercury to be consumed by people or wildlife.[2,7] Concentrations of total mercury in human hair are significantly correlated with frequency of fish consumption.[8]
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