Mercury in fish in the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania, and its relation to the position of the fish in the food chain

1975 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
DA Ratkowsky ◽  
TG Dix ◽  
KC Wilson

Total mercury concentrations are reported for 258 individuals representing 16 species of finfish from the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania. Mercury concentrations in the muscle tissue varied between undetectable levels and a value of 2.0 mg/kg in one specimen of a species of shark. Irrespective of species, the area encompassing Ralphs Bay contained a higher percentage of fish with mercury concentrations in excess of the Tasmanian Food Regulation limit of 0.5 mg/kg than any other area of the Estuary. RaIphs Bay is the area in which oysters were found in a previous study to contain extraordinarily high concentrations of other heavy metals, particularly zinc, cadmium and copper. The fish's position in the food chain appeared to be an important factor determining its mercury content. Approximately 51 % of individual fish of species whose diet consists predominantly of other fish had mercury concentrations in excess of 0.5 mg/kg. In contrast, 24% of invertebrate predators and only 7 % of individuals of herbivorous habit had mercury concentrations in excess of 0.5 mg/kg.

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
MN Mondol ◽  
A Asia ◽  
AS Chamon ◽  
SMA Faiz

An investigation was made at Hazaribagh Tannery area, comprising about 145 industries in Dhaka Metropolitan area. The analyses of soil and plant samples showed that heavy metals contribute significantly towards environmental contamssination resulting from industrial activities. Concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Mn, Fe and Ni) in soil and plant samples cross the MAC (Maximum allowable concentration) in both wet and dry season. In case of soil sample the highest concentration of Cr (172792 ppm) was found at main disposal point. Chromium, Zn, Pb, Cd, Mn, Fe and Ni concentrations at Hazaribagh plant samples respectively ranged from 171-1348, 247-777, 45-96, 1.66-2.17, 72-231, 354-787, and 18-38 ppm respectively in dry season and 75-1142, 209-691, 29- 84, 1.02-2.00, 66-124, 331-664, 11-37 ppm respectively in wet season. Concentration went down gradually with increasing distance from the main disposal point (spot 1). But again high concentration (150708 ppm of Cr) was noted in spot 6. Similar results were found for plant samples. High concentrations of heavy metals were found in plant samples which consequently affect food chain, which may be a major environmental concern. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 43(2): 207-222, December 2017


2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 1361-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENNIS P. CLADIS ◽  
ALISON C. KLEINER ◽  
CHARLES R. SANTERRE

Seventy-seven finfish species (300 composites of three fish) were obtained from commercial vendors in six regions of the United States: Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic, New England, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Total mercury in fish muscle tissue ranged from 1 ppb (channel catfish) to 1,425 ppb (king mackerel). Of the top 10 most commonly consumed seafoods in the United States, all finfish species, including salmon species (13 to 62 ppb), Alaskan pollock (11 ppb), tilapia (16 ppb), channel catfish (1 ppb), Atlantic cod (82 ppb), and pangasius (swai) (2 ppb), had low total mercury concentrations. However, two large predatory species, king mackerel and swordfish (1,107 ppb), contained mercury concentrations above the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1,000 ppb, indicating that consumers may be unaware that species that are high in mercury are being sold in the marketplace.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munandar Munandar ◽  
Alwis Alamsyah

One source of mercury pollution came from gold mining was done by the community from gold processing through amalgamation. Heavy metals that present in the waters will undergo deposition process and accumulate in marine animals then end up in humans. Meureubo upstream region is one of the locations that still carried out the gold mining activities used mercury. That condition is one potential factor that can contaminate the waters. This study was conducted in October-November 2014. Sampling was taked in Meureubo River and the mercury content analysis was carried out in the Laboratory of Research and Standardization Industry (Baristan) Banda Aceh. The laboratory analysis results showed that the total mercury (Hg) of heavy metals in the freshwater mussels samples (Anodonta sp) on RP station is 0,074 ppm, PP illustrates 0,042 ppm and PA confirms 0.304 ppm. Furthermore, the total mercury (Hg) of heavy metals in the sample freshwater on RP station around 0.0005085 mg/l, PP 0.0001792 mg/l and PA 0.0006711 mg/l. The results showed that the samples of freshwater mussels (Anodonta sp) and the water samples which taken at three stations (Rantau Panjang, Pasi Pinang, Pasi Aceh) were positive for mercury (Hg).


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sehonova Pavla ◽  
Harustiakova Danka ◽  
Mikula Premysl ◽  
Medkova Denisa ◽  
Malacova Kristyna ◽  
...  

AbstractMercury is one of the important pollutants of the environment. Therefore, it’s necessary to monitor quantity of mercury especially in aquatic ecosystems. The main goal of the presented study was to compare the content of total mercury in tissues of fish coming from the Czech Republic, an important carp exporter, with focus on comparison of mercury content between 3 different ponds, its comparison between different fish species and between different tissues of the same species, and estimation whether the mercury content in tissues meets the limit given in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 or not. Total mercury concentration was measured in 90 fish specimen sampled from three ponds (Velky Kocelovicky, Mysliv and Zehunsky) in autumn 2018. The values of total mercury in fish tissues was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. The content of total mercury in the tissues decreased as follows: muscle > liver > gonads > scales. The highest average content of total mercury in muscle was 0.1517 ± 0.0176 mg/kg coming from pike caught in Velky Kocelovicky pond. In contrast, the lowest average content of total mercury in muscle 0.0036 ± 0.0003 mg/kg was found in carp tissue coming from the locality of Zehunsky pond. We confirmed that the predatory fish are more exposed to mercury than non-predatory fish. None of the monitored localities exceeded the set regulatory limit. Thus, our study shows that fish coming from these ponds are safe in terms of total mercury content.


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1065-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent L. St. Louis ◽  
John W. M. Rudd ◽  
Carol A. Kelly ◽  
Ken G. Beaty ◽  
Nicholas S. Bloom ◽  
...  

Wetlands were found to be important sources of methyl mercury to the boreal forest ecosystem. Yields of methyl mercury were about 26–79 times higher from wetland portions of catchments (1.84–5.55 mg∙ha−1∙yr−1) than from purely upland areas (0.07 mg∙ha−1∙yr−1). Mass-balance estimates using methyl mercury inputs in wet deposition and outputs in runoff water indicated that purely upland catchments and lakes were sites of methyl mercury retention or demethylation, while catchments with wetland areas were sites of net methyl mercury production. These observations may explain the high concentrations of mercury in fish taken from lakes that are high in colour because they receive water from wetlands. There was no relationship between the concentration of total mercury and the concentration of methyl mercury in runoff water. Total mercury yields were low from a wetland-dominated catchment, higher from a combination upland/riparian wetland catchment, and highest from a purely upland catchment. The opposite was true for methyl mercury yields from these same catchments. This indicates that environmental factors other than total mercury concentration are controlling the production and loss of methyl mercury from catchments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife J. McHugh ◽  
Min Yap ◽  
Fiona Crispie ◽  
Conor Feehily ◽  
Colin Hill ◽  
...  

AbstractEfficient and accurate identification of microorganisms throughout the food chain can potentially allow the identification of sources of contamination and the timely implementation of control measures. High throughput DNA sequencing represents a potential means through which microbial monitoring can be enhanced. While Illumina sequencing platforms are most typically used, newer portable platforms, such as the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) MinION, offer the potential for rapid analysis of food chain microbiomes. Initial assessment of the ability of rapid MinION-based sequencing to identify microbes within a simple mock metagenomic mixture is performed. Subsequently, we compare the performance of both ONT and Illumina sequencing for environmental monitoring of an active food processing facility. Overall, ONT MinION sequencing provides accurate classification to species level, comparable to Illumina-derived outputs. However, while the MinION-based approach provides a means of easy library preparations and portability, the high concentrations of DNA needed is a limiting factor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6592
Author(s):  
Ana Moldovan ◽  
Maria-Alexandra Hoaghia ◽  
Anamaria Iulia Török ◽  
Marius Roman ◽  
Ionut Cornel Mirea ◽  
...  

This study aims to investigate the quality and vulnerability of surface water (Aries River catchment) in order to identify the impact of past mining activities. For this purpose, the pollution and water quality indices, Piper and Durov plots, as well vulnerability modeling maps were used. The obtained results indicate that the water samples were contaminated with As, Fe, Mn, Pb and have relatively high concentrations of SO42−, HCO3−, TDS, Ca, K, Mg and high values for the electrical conductivity. Possible sources of the high content of chemicals could be the natural processes or the inputs of the mine drainage. Generally, according to the pollution indices, which were correlated to high concentrations of heavy metals, especially with Pb, Fe and Mn, the water samples were characterized by heavy metals pollution. The water quality index classified the studied water samples into five different classes of quality, namely: unsuitable for drinking, poor, medium, good and excellent quality. Similarly, medium, high and very high vulnerability classes were observed. The Durov and Piper plots classified the waters into Mg-HCO3− and Ca-Cl− types. The past and present mining activities clearly change the water chemistry and alter the quality of the Aries River, with the water requiring specific treatments before use.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Williams ◽  
H. V. Weiss

Mercury in seawater, in a pelagic food chain, and in bottom sediment was determined at a single station 430 km southeast of San Diego, California. The concentration of mercury in zooplankton slightly increased with depth of collection. The mercury content in almost all of the higher trophic levels of organisms collected at greater depths was indistinguishable from the concentration of mercury in zooplankton at these depths. Mercury concentration in the seawater column was essentially constant below 100 m and significantly higher at the surface. This vertical profile of mercury content is not ascribable to biological activity.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1754
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Collivignarelli ◽  
Marco Carnevale Miino ◽  
Francesca Maria Caccamo ◽  
Marco Baldi ◽  
Alessandro Abbà

To date, the management of high-strength wastewater represents a serious problem. This work aims to evaluate the performance on chemical pollutants and on sludge production of one of the two full-scale thermophilic membrane bioreactors (ThMBRs) currently operational in Italy, based on monitoring data of the last two and a half years. Removal yields on COD, N-NOx, non-ionic and anionic surfactants (TAS and MBAS), increased with the input load up to 81.9%, 97.6%, 94.7%, and 98.4%, respectively. In the period of stability, a very low value of sludge production (0.052 kgVS kgCOD−1) was observed. Oxygen uptake rate (OUR) tests allowed us to exclude the possibility that mesophilic biomass generally exhibited any acute inhibition following contact with the aqueous residues (ARs), except for substrates that presented high concentrations of perfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS), cyanides and chlorides. In one case, nitrifying activity was partially inhibited by high chlorides and PFAS concentration, while in another the substrate determined a positive effect, stimulating the phenomenon of nitrification. Nitrogen uptake rate (NUR) tests highlighted the feasibility of reusing the organic carbon contained in the substrate as a source in denitrification, obtaining a value comparable with that obtained using the reference solution with methanol. Therefore, respirometric tests proved to be a valid tool to assess the acute effect of AR of ThMBR on the activity of mesophilic biomass in the case of recirculation.


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