Using mercury stable isotope fractionation to identify the contribution of historical mercury mining sources present in downstream water, sediment and fish.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystems downstream of mercury (Hg) contaminated sites can be impacted by both localized releases as well as Hg deposited to the watershed from atmospheric transport. Identifying the source of Hg in water, sediment, and fish downstream of contaminated sites is important for determining the effectiveness of source-control remediation actions. This study uses measurements of Hg stable isotopes in soil, sediment, water, and fish to differentiate between Hg from an abandoned Hg mine from non-mine-related sources. The study site is located within the Willamette River watershed (Oregon, United States), which includes free-flowing river segments and a reservoir downstream of the mine. The concentrations of total-Hg (THg) in the reservoir fish were 4-fold higher than those further downstream (>9

SUBMITTER: Eckley CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10269370 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature