Mercury Mine Research Articles

Scopoli's work in the field of mercurialism in light of today's knowledge: Past and present perspectives

The Idrija Mercury Mine (1490-1994) appointed its first physician, Joannes Antonius Scopoli, in 1754. Most of his descriptions of mercurialism are still relevant today. This study highlights Scopoli's observations on the interaction between elemental mercury (Hg degrees ) and alcohol, on the appearance of lung impairment, insomnia, and depressive mood in mercurialism. This presentation is based on Scopoli's experiences presented in his book, De Hydrargyro Idriensi Tentamina (1761), current knowledge, and our own experience acquired through health monitoring of occupational Hg degrees exposure. Some studies have confirmed Scopoli's observation that alcohol enhances mercurialism and his hypothesis that exposure to high Hg degrees concentrations causes serious lung impairment. Neurobiological studies have highlighted the influence of Hg degrees on sleep disorder and depressive mood observed by Scopoli. Although today's knowledge provides new perspectives of Scopoli's work on mercurialism, his work is still very important and can be considered a part of occupational medicine heritage.

Natural, cultural and industrial heritage as a basis for sustainable regional development within the Geopark Idrija project (Slovenia)

The Idrija Municipality, situated in the western part of Slovenia, extends over an area of 294 km2 with around 12,000 inhabitants. The area of Idrija is placed at the crossing of Dinaric and Alpine mountain ranges. This position is the reason for an exceptionally diverse surface with deep gorges, high Karst tablelands and mountain tops. Furthermore, the most important natural feature is Idrija mercury ore deposit which was exploited by the Idrija Mercury Mine Ltd. and was the leading force in the development of the region through centuries. Today, the mine is closed but it left an outstanding cultural and industrial heritage that needs to be conserved for future generations - local people to sustain their identity and for visitors. To present the richness of Idrija region the local authorities have put many efforts into establishment of the Geopark since 2007. In 2009 concrete steps were taken with the inventory, thematic trails, evaluation of geoheritage, educational programs, research thesis, etc. With this project the basis and guidelines for the establishment of the Geopark were set. In 2010, the activities have continued at the Municipality level by setting an organisation structure of the future Geopark. .

Surface water monitoring in the mercury mining district of Asturias (Spain)

Systematic monitoring of surface waters in the area of abandoned mine sites constitutes an essential step in the characterisation of pollution from historic mine sites. The analytical data collected throughout a hydrologic period can be used for hydrological modelling and also to select appropriate preventive and/or corrective measures in order to avoid pollution of watercourses. Caudal River drains the main abandoned Hg mine sites (located in Mieres and Pola de Lena districts) in Central Asturias (NW Spain). This paper describes a systematic monitoring of physical and chemical parameters in eighteen selected sampling points within the Caudal River catchment. At each sampling station, water flow, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, redox potential and turbidity were controlled “in situ” and major and trace elements were analysed in the laboratory. In the Hg-mineralised areas, As is present in the form of As-rich pyrite, realgar and occasionally arsenopyrite. Mine drainage and leachates from spoil heaps exhibit in some cases acidic conditions and high As contents, and they are incorporated to Caudal River tributaries. Multivariate statistical analysis aids to the interpretation of the spatial and temporary variations found in the sampled areas, as part of a methodology applicable to different environmental and geological studies.

Mercury uptake and distribution in Lavandula stoechas plants grown in soil from Almadén mining district (Spain)

This work studies mercury root uptake by Lavandula stoechas var. Kew Red (lavender) and the distribution of this metal through the plant under greenhouse conditions along three consecutive seasons. Mercury concentration in plant tissues and in the different products obtained from lavender plants (essential oil, toilet water and in lavender tea) was assessed in order to evaluate the possible cultivation of lavender as a profitable alternative land use to mercury mining in the Almadén area once the mine had been closed down. Mercury concentration in useful parts of the plant was low (0.03–0.55 mg kg −1). Likewise, the essential oil, toilet water and tea obtained from these plants presented very low mercury levels, below the detection limit of the used equipment (<0.5 μg kg −1). In the case of the obtained tea, according to the recommendations given by the World Health Organization, the maximum daily intake of it without intoxication risk would be 85.2 l. So, although other sources of mercury intake should also be considered in order to elaborate a complete toxicological risk assessment. Lavender data, obtained under this greenhouse working conditions, shows that lavender cultivation could be an alternative crop in the Almadén area.

Mercury exposure and effects in 6–11-year-old children living in the area of the former mercury mine in Slovenia

Mercury exposure and effects in 6–11-year-old children living in the area of the former mercury mine in Slovenia

Factors controlling the element distribution in farming soils and water around the abandoned Halıköy mercury mine (Beydağ, Turkey)

Abstract Acid mine drainage, downstream transport of metal-rich water and sediment runoff adversely effect the environment surrounding the Halikoy Hg mine. This study focuses on the environmental effects of the Halikoy Hg mine on soil, stream sediment and water because the area is used for agricultural purposes. Stream sediment and farming soil have been polluted by contaminants derived from the mine. The effects of Hg mining and the distribution of contaminants in soil and stream sediment were evaluated by calculation of enrichment factors (EFs) which indicated enrichments for As, Hg, Sb and Pb. Other metals Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe and Zn show moderate enrichment in soil close to the mine. EFs indicate soil contamination in the order of: Hg > As > Sb > Ni > Co > Cu > Fe > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cd. The greatest contamination was found near mine wastes, decreasing with increasing distance from the mine site. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn are enriched in mine water. Acidic mine water samples have low pH (2.5–3.0) and high dissolved solids with electrical conductivity (EC) of about 3800 μS/cm. Low pH in the groundwater (as low as 3.7) was also observed close to the stream draining of the mine. The source of acidity is the oxidation Fe-sulfides (dominantly pyrite) which release Fe, SO 4 2 - and H+ forming acid in mine water runoff. Concentrations of Hg are elevated (0.04–1.2 μg/L) in acidic mine water and groundwater exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) aquatic life Hg standard of 12 ng/L by as much as 100 times.

Mercury and trace element contents of Donbas coals and associated mine water in the vicinity of Donetsk, Ukraine

Abstract Mercury-rich coals in the Donets Basin (Donbas region) of Ukraine were sampled in active underground mines to assess the levels of potentially harmful elements and the potential for dispersion of metals through use of this coal. For 29 samples representing c 11 to m 3 Carboniferous coals, mercury contents range from 0.02 to 3.5 ppm (whole-coal dry basis). Mercury is well correlated with pyritic sulfur (0.01 to 3.2 wt.%), with an r 2 of 0.614 (one outlier excluded). Sulfides in these samples show enrichment of minor constituents in late-stage pyrite formed as a result of interaction of coal with hydrothermal fluids. Mine water sampled at depth and at surface collection points does not show enrichment of trace metals at harmful levels, indicating pyrite stability at subsurface conditions. Four samples of coal exposed in the defunct open-cast Nikitovka mercury mines in Gorlovka have extreme mercury contents of 12.8 to 25.5 ppm. This coal was formerly produced as a byproduct of extracting sandstone-hosted cinnabar ore. Access to these workings is unrestricted and small amounts of extreme mercury-rich coal are collected for domestic use, posing a limited human health hazard. More widespread hazards are posed by the abandoned Nikitovka mercury processing plant, the extensive mercury mine tailings, and mercury enrichment of soils extending into residential areas of Gorlovka.

Mercury accumulation and attenuation at a rapidly forming delta with a point source of mining waste

The Walker Creek intertidal delta of Tomales Bay, California is impacted by a former mercury mine within the watershed. Eleven short sediment cores (10 cm length) collected from the delta found monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 11.4 ng/g (dry wt.), with lower concentrations occurring at the vegetated marsh and upstream channel locations. Algal mats common to the delta's sediment surface had MMHg concentrations ranging from 7.5 to 31.5 ng/g, and the top 1 cm of sediment directly under the mats had two times greater MMHg concentrations compared to adjacent locations without algal covering. Spatial trends in resident biota reflect enhanced MMHg uptake at the delta compared to other bay locations. Eighteen sediment cores, 1 to 2 m deep, collected from the 1.2 km 2 delta provide an estimate of a total mercury (Hg) inventory of 2500 ± 500 kg. Sediment Hg concentrations ranged from pre-mining background conditions of approximately 0.1 μg/g to a post-mining maximum of 5 μg/g. Sediment accumulation rates were determined from three sediment cores using measured differences of 137Cs activity. We estimate a pre-mining Hg accumulation of less than 20 kg/yr, and a period of maximum Hg accumulation in the 1970s and 1980s with loading rates greater than 50 kg/yr, corresponding to the failure of a tailings dam at the mine site. At the time of sampling (2003) over 40 kg/yr of Hg was still accumulating at the delta, indicating limited recovery. We attribute observed spatial evolution of elevated Hg levels to ongoing inputs and sediment re-working, and estimate the inventory of the anthropogenic fraction of total Hg to be at least 1500 ± 300 kg. We suggest ongoing sediment inputs and methylation at the deltaic surface support enhanced mercury levels for resident biota and transfer to higher trophic levels throughout the Bay.

Spatial and seasonal variations in mercury methylation and microbial community structure in a historic mercury mining area, Yolo County, California

The relationships between soil parent lithology, nutrient concentrations, microbial biomass and community structure were evaluated in soils from a small watershed impacted by historic Hg mining. Upland and wetland soils, stream sediments and tailings were collected and analyzed for nutrients (DOC, SO 4 =, NO 3 −), Hg, MeHg, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). Stream sediment was derived from serpentinite, siltstone, volcanic rocks and mineralized serpentine with cinnabar, metacinnabar and other Hg phases. Soils from different parent materials had distinct PLFA biomass and community structures that are related to nutrient concentrations and toxicity effects of trace metals including Hg. The formation of MeHg appears to be most strongly linked to soil moisture, which in turn has a correlative relationship with PLFA biomass in wetland soils. The greatest concentrations of MeHg (> 0.5 ng g − 1 MeHg) were measured in wetland soils and soil with a volcanic parent (9.5–37 µg g − 1 Hg). Mercury methylation was associated with sulfate-reducing bacteria, including Desulfobacter sp. and Desulfovibrio sp., although these organisms are not exclusively responsible for Hg methylation. Statistical models of the data demonstrated that soil microbial communities varied more with soil type than with season.

Concentration, distribution and bioaccumulation of mercury in the Xunyang mercury mining area, Shaanxi Province, China

Samples of surface water, soil, sediment and plants from the Xunyang Hg mining area in Shaanxi Province, China, were analyzed to assess the effects of the Hg mining activities on the environment. The results show that: (1) the mining activities are sources of Hg to the environment surrounding the mine; (2) the environment, especially riverbeds in the Xunyang area, is contaminated with Hg and (3) Hg accumulation in cabbage leaves, the main vegetable for the local residents, is high, reaching concentrations that are 6–540 times higher than the maximum Hg concentration recommended for edible plants in China. Action should be taken to remediate contaminated sites, manage waste discharges and reduce the exposure of Hg to local residents by issuing advisories against consuming agricultural products grown in the area, which are contaminated with Hg.

LEHR superfund stormwater runoff and putah creek mercury issues

AbstractStormwater runoff from the University of California, Davis/U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory for Energy‐Related Health Research (UCD/US DOE LEHR) Superfund site located on the University of California campus in Davis, California, has been found to contain over 500 ng/L of total recoverable mercury, which is about ten times the California Toxics Rule criterion. This stormwater runoff is discharged to Putah Creek, which is Clean Water Act Section 303(d) listed as impaired for excessive mercury bioaccumulation in edible fish. A discussion is presented on the potential impact of the mercury in stormwater runoff from LEHR leading to excessive bioaccumulation of mercury in Putah Creek fish. The mercury in the stormwater runoff is derived from former flooding of the soils near the creek, which contains mercury derived from abandoned upstream mercury mines located in the Coast Range Vaca Hills to the west of LEHR. The implications of this situation for implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to control mercury in stormwater runoff to Putah Creek are presented. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Un testimonio médico sobre las condiciones de vida de trabajo de los mineros de Almadén en la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII : el prólogo del " Catástrofe morboso de las Minas Mercuriales de la Villa de Almadén del Azogue (1778 ),de José Parés y Fra

La mineria del mercurio ha capitalizado desde fechas tempranas la atencion de los sanitarios hacia los problemas de salud derivados del trabajo. La acusada nocividad del proceso de obtencion del azogue y la trascendencia economica alcanzada por este metal desde la segunda mitad del siglo XVI justifican esa atencion. Presentamos el testimonio de uno de los observadores mas cualificados de la realidad de las minas de Almaden -las mayores productoras mundiales de mercurio- durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII: el medico Jose Pares y Franques. Su prolongada actividad asistencial en contacto con los mineros de Almaden lo convierten en un profundo conocedor de los riesgos ocupacionales de la mina y de la patologia generada por el mercurio. Tales conocimientos quedaron plasmados en su obra inedita Catastrofe morboso, cuyo prologo reproducimos en el presente estudio.

Atmospheric mercury emission from artisanal mercury mining in Guizhou Province, Southwestern China

Mercury (Hg) mining is an important anthropogenic source of atmospheric Hg emissions. The Guizhou Province in Southwestern China is a region with extensive artisanal mercury mining (AMM), but little Hg emission data from this area is available. Using a mass balance method, we estimated emission factors from artisanal mercury mining in Wuchuan mercury mining area (WMMA) and Gouxi area (GX). Average emission factors were 18.2% in WMMA (ranging from 6.9% to 32.1%) and 9.8% in GX (ranging from 6.6% to 14.5%), respectively, which were 2.2–36.4 times higher than the literature values used to estimate Hg emission from Hg mining. Furthermore, the average Hg emission factor of AMM in WMMA was much higher than that in GX, indicating that double condensation processes practiced in GX resulted in higher recoveries and lower emission factors compared to single condensation process applied in WMMA. Atmospheric Hg emission was estimated to be 3.7–9.6 metric tons in 2004 for WMMA and 1.3–2.7 metric tons in 2006 for GX, indicating artisanal Hg mining was an important atmospheric Hg emission source in the study area.

Human hair mercury levels in the Wanshan mercury mining area, Guizhou Province, China

The total mercury (T-Hg) and methyl mercury (Me-Hg) concentrations in the hair were measured to evaluate mercury (Hg) exposure for the residents in Da-shui-xi Village (DSX) and Xia-chang-xi Village (XCX) in the Wanshan Hg mining area, Guizhou Province, Southwestern China. The mean concentrations in the hair of DSX residents were 5.5 ± 2.7 μg/g and 1.9 ± 0.9 μg/g for T-Hg and Me-Hg, respectively. The concentrations in the hair of XCX residents were 3.3 ± 1.4 μg/g and 1.2 ± 0.5 μg/g for T-Hg and Me-Hg, respectively. Hair Me-Hg concentrations were significantly correlated to T-Hg (r = 0.42, P < 0.01) in the two sites; on average, hair Me-Hg concentration accounted for 40 and 44% of T-Hg for DSX and XCX residents, respectively. Age has no obvious correlation with hair Hg and the hair Hg levels showed a significant gender difference, with higher T-Hg and Me-Hg concentrations in the hair from males than females. The rice collected from the two sites showed high levels of T-Hg and Me-Hg concentration. The results indicated a certain Hg exposure for the residents in DSX and XCX in the Wanshan Hg mining area.

Diets of Three Species of Anurans from the Cache Creek Watershed, California, USA

We evaluated the diets of three sympatric anuran species, the native Northern Pacific Treefrog, Pseudacris regilla, and Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog, Rana boylii, and the introduced American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus, based on stomach contents of frogs collected at 36 sites in 1997 and 1998. This investigation was part of a study of mercury bioaccumulation in the biota of the Cache Creek Watershed in north-central California, an area affected by mercury contamination from natural sources and abandoned mercury mines. We collected R. boylii at 22 sites, L. catesbeianus at 21 sites, and P. regilla at 13 sites. We collected both L. catesbeianus and R. boylii at nine sites and all three species at five sites. Pseudacris regilla had the least aquatic diet (100% of the samples had terrestrial prey vs. 5% with aquatic prey), followed by R. boylii (98% terrestrial, 28% aquatic), and L. catesbeianus, which had similar percentages of terrestrial (81%) and aquatic prey (74%). Observed predation by L. catesbeianus on R. boylii may indicate that interaction between these two species is significant. Based on their widespread abundance and their preference for aquatic foods, we suggest that, where present, L. catesbeianus should be the species of choice for all lethal biomonitoring of mercury in amphibians.

THE LEGACY OF MERCURY CYCLING FROM MINING SOURCES IN AN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM: FROM ORE TO ORGANISM

Clear Lake is the site of an abandoned mercury (Hg) mine (active intermittently from 1873 to 1957), now a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site. Mining activities, including bulldozing waste rock and tailings into the lake, resulted in approximately 100 Mg of Hg entering the lake's ecosystem. This series of papers represents the culmination of approximately 15 years of Hg-related studies on this ecosystem, following Hg from the ore body to the highest trophic levels. A series of physical, chemical, biological, and limnological studies elucidate how ongoing Hg loading to the lake is influenced by acid mine drainage and how wind-driven currents and baroclinic circulation patterns redistribute Hg throughout the lake. Methylmercury (MeHg) production in this system is controlled by both sulfate-reducing bacteria as well as newly identified iron-reducing bacteria. Sediment cores (dated with dichlorodiphenyldichlorethane [DDD], 210pb, and 14C) to approximately 250 cm depth (representing up to approximately 3000 years before present) elucidate a record of total Hg (TotHg) loading to the lake from natural sources and mining and demonstrate how MeHg remains stable at depth within the sediment column for decades to millenia. Core data also identify other stresses that have influenced the Clear Lake Basin especially over the past 150 years. Although Clear Lake is one of the most Hg-contaminated lakes in the world, biota do not exhibit MeHg concentrations as high as would be predicted based on the gross level of Hg loading. We compare Clear Lake's TotHg and MeHg concentrations with other sites worldwide and suggest several hypotheses to explain why this discrepancy exists. Based on our data, together with state and federal water and sediment quality criteria, we predict potential resulting environmental and human health effects and provide data that can assist remediation efforts.

USE OF TRACERS TO QUANTIFY SUBSURFACE FLOW THROUGH A MINING PIT

Three independent tracer experiments were conducted to quantify the through-flow of water from Herman Pit, an abandoned mercury (Hg) mine pit adjacent to Clear Lake, California, USA. The tracers used were Rhodamine-WT, sulfur hexafluoride, and a mixture of sulfur hexafluoride and neon-22. The tracers were injected into Herman Pit, a generally well-mixed water body of approximately 81,000 m2, and the concentrations were monitored in the mine pit, observation wells, and the lake for 2-3 months following each injection. The results for all three experiments showed that the tracer arrived at certain observation wells within days of injection. Comparing all the well data showed a highly heterogeneous response, with a small number of wells showing this near-instantaneous response and others taking months before the tracer was detectable. Tracer was also found in the lake on four occasions over a one-month period, too few to infer any pattern but sufficient to confirm the connection of the two water bodies. Using a simple mass balance model it was possible to determine the effective loss rate through advection for each of the tracers and with this to estimate the through-flow rate. The through-flow rate for all three experiments was approximately 630 L/s, at least 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than previous estimates, all of which had been based on geochemical inferences or other indirect measures of the pit through-flow.

ANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORS AND CHANGES IN THE CLEAR LAKE ECOSYSTEM AS RECORDED IN SEDIMENT CORES

Sediment cores were collected to investigate multiple stresses on Clear Lake, California, USA, through the period of European occupation to the present day. Earlier workers suggested the hypothesis that the use of mechanized earthmoving equipment, starting in the 1920s and 1930s, was responsible for erosion, mercury (Hg) contamination, and habitat loss stresses. Cores (approximately 2.5 m in depth) were collected in 1996 and 2000 from each of the three arms of the lake. Carbon-14 dating suggests that these cores represent as much as 3000 years of the lake's history, beginning long before European settlement. Total mercury (TotHg) and methylmercury (MeHg), dry matter, water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and the stable isotopes 13C and 15N were measured at 5-cm intervals. Nearly all parameters show major changes at depths of 58-135 cm, beginning at ca. 1927 (dated with 210Pb). Accepting this date for concomitant major changes in seven cores yields an estimated 8.6 mm/yr average sedimentation rate after 1927. Pre-1927 sedimentation rates were approximately 1 mm/yr. Total mercury and MeHg, dry matter, phosphorus, and 15N increase significantly, whereas nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, and water content decrease significantly above the 1927 horizon. Both TotHg and MeHg show extremely large increases (roughly 10-fold) above the 1927 horizon. A peak in inorganic deposition rate and minimum values for percentage of water is present at depths corresponding to ca. 1970. Interestingly, the first 75 years of European settlement in the Clear Lake basin (including the most productive years of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine) appeared to have had undetectable effects on lake cores. Changes since 1927 were dramatic. The large increase in Hg beginning about 1927 corresponds to the use of heavy equipment to exploit the ore deposit at the mine using open-pit methods. Increases in sediment deposition from increased earthmoving in the basin and sulfate loading from the mine are the most likely explanations for the dramatic changes seen in the post-1927 sections of the cores.

VERTICAL STABILITY OF MERCURY IN HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC SEDIMENTS FROM CLEAR LAKE, CALIFORNIA

Clear Lake, California, USA, is the site of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine, now a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site. Intermittent mining from 1873 to 1957 resulted in approximately 100 Mg of mercury (Hg) being deposited into the lake's ecosystem. Sediment cores to approximately 2.5 m depth (dated using 210Pb and 14C) represent approximately 3000 years of sedimentation. Clear Lake sediments have experienced Hg deposition from anthropogenic sources (mining) during historic times (to the mid-1900s) and geologic sources during prehistoric times (prior to the mid-1800s). This provides a unique opportunity to evaluate hypotheses relating to (1) the influence of the mine on Hg loading to the lake and (2) the potential upward mobilization of Hg by diagenetic processes proposed by some as an alternative explanation for increased Hg concentrations at the surface of the sediment column believed to be caused by increased global atmospheric deposition. Although Hg mining began in 1873, no significant evidence of anthropogenic Hg loading was detected in cores prior to open-pit mining ca. 1927, which also involved bulldozing mine waste rock and tailings into the lake. Exponential increases in total Hg (TotHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were observed above the 1927 horizon, where estimated sedimentation rates were 2.2-20.4 mm/yr and peaks of both forms of Hg maintained vertical stability within the sediment column. Below the 1927 horizon, a slow increase in both TotHg and MeHg with depth was observed from approximately 1000 to 3000 years before present, where sedimentation rates ranged from approximately 0.6 to 2.0 mm/yr and elevated Hg profiles appear stable. Vertical stability of Hg in the shallow and deep sediment column suggests that both TotHg and MeHg do not undergo diagenetic upward mobilization within the sediment column under rapid or slow sedimentation rates. Because (1) these data were collected at a site with known anthropogenic and geologic sources and (2) regions of elevated Hg concentrations from both sources remain stable within the sediment column under very different sedimentation regimes, these results also support the hypothesis that elevated Hg at the surface of cores in other worldwide locations likely represents global atmospheric deposition rather than upward diagenetic mobilization.

MERCURY RESIDUES AND PRODUCTIVITY IN OSPREY AND GREBES FROM A MINE‐DOMINATED ECOSYSTEM

Mercury (Hg) and reproduction and status of Western and Clark's Grebes (Aechmophorus sp.) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) were studied from 1992 through 2001 and then less intensely through 2006 at Clear Lake, California, USA. Remediation to reduce Hg loading from the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine was initiated in 1992. Mercury in grebe feathers declined monotonically from approximately 23 mg/kg dry mass (DM) in 1967-1969 to 1 mg/kg in 2003, but then increased to 7 mg/kg in 2004-2006. Mercury in Osprey feathers varied similarly, with mean values of 20 mg/kg DM in 1992, declining to a low of 2 mg/kg in 1998, but increasing to 23 mg/kg in 2003, and 12 mg/kg in 2006. Mercury in Osprey feathers at our reference site (Eagle Lake, California) remained low (1-8 ppm) throughout the entire period, 1992-2003. Grebe productivity at Clear Lake improved from approximately 0.1 to 0.5 fledged young per adult during the latter part of the study when human disturbance was prevented. At that period in time, improved productivity did not differ from our reference site at Eagle Lake. Human disturbance, however, as a co-factor made it impossible to evaluate statistically subtle Hg effects on grebe productivity at Clear Lake. Osprey reproduced sufficiently to maintain increasing breeding numbers from 1992 to 2006. Mercury in Clear Lake water, sediments, invertebrates, and fish did not decline from 1992 to 2003, but a shift in trophic structure induced by an introduced planktivorous fish species may have caused significant alterations in Hg concentrations in several species of prey fishes that may have produced concomitant changes in Osprey and grebe Hg exposure. The temporary declines observed in grebe and Osprey feather residues in the late 1990s, with coincidental improvements in reproductive performance, however, could not be attributed to remediation at the mine site.