High altitude artisanal small-scale gold mines are hot spots for Mercury in soils and plants.
Environ Pollut
; 173: 103-9, 2013 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23202639
Mercury releases from artisanal and small-scale gold mines (ASGM) condense and settle on plants, soils and water bodies. We collected soil and plant samples to add knowledge to the likely transfer of Hg from soils into plants and eventually predict Hg accumulation in livestock around ASGM in Bolivia. Mean contents of Hg in soils range from 0.5 to 48.6 mg Hg kg(-1) soil (5× to 60× more compared to control sites) and exceeded the soil Hg threshold levels in some European countries. The Hg contents ranged from 0.6 to 18 and 0.2 to 28.3 mg Hg kg(-1) leaf and root, respectively. The high Hg in Poaceae and Rosaceae may elevate Hg accumulation into the food chain because llama and alpaca solely thrive on these plants for food. Erosion of soils around ASGM in Bolivia contributes to the Hg contamination in lower reaches of the Amazon basin.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Plantas
/
Solo
/
Poluentes do Solo
/
Ouro
/
Mercúrio
/
Mineração
País/Região como assunto:
America do sul
/
Bolivia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Pollut
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha
País de publicação:
Reino Unido