Abstract
Military activities have been conducted on land and at sea. Both during conflicts and in peace time, some regions served as a military training ground which included firing positions and bunkers. Mercury fulminate has been used in ammunition primers and detonators. Certain amount of ammunition was dumped into the Baltic Sea after the Second World War. Because of corroded containers, mercury can be released into the marine environment. The soil and sediment samples were taken from military training grounds, southern Baltic in 2014 and 2015. The concentration of mercury was determined by AMA-254 analyzer. Hg concentration was higher in the places of military activities, as compared to other areas. Ten times increased concentration of Hg was determined in soil sample collected in area of active gun range compared to the reference station. The significant higher concentration of mercury was detected in stations where chemical warfare agents were found.
Highlights
Heavy metals still remain a serious factor threatening natural environment
Concentration of mercury in soil samples taken from inactive training ground in Kolbudy was characterized by high variability
Similar concentration of Hg was found in the samples which were taken from the areas situated about 50 and 1500 m from the gun range
Summary
Heavy metals still remain a serious factor threatening natural environment. Mercury is considered the most dangerous of them (Polak-Juszczak 2009). The diagenetic processes which He undergoes in marine environment are still being investigated worldwide. The reason for this is numerous cases of poisoning, often lethal. Consumption of fish is for mercury one of dominant ways to enter a human organism. An increase in the number of people with brain damage, who live in the mercury contaminated areas, has been observed for several years which was attributed to the increase of Hg concentration in the environment (Bernard et al 2001). Mercury can enter a human body through the respiratory system and skin. He has a negative impact on the kidneys, lungs, digestive system and skin (Bose-O’Reilly et al 2010). Mercury damages nerve cells which in turn, prevents normal development of the central nervous system (Zahir et al 2005)
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