Mercury Isotope Fractionation in the Subsurface of a Hg(II) Chloride-Contaminated Industrial Legacy Site.

ABSTRACT: To understand the transformations of mercury (Hg) species in the subsurface of a HgCl₂-contaminated former industrial site in southwest Germany, Hg isotope analysis was combined with an investigation of Hg forms by a four-step sequential extraction protocol (SEP) and pyrolytic thermodesorption. Data from two soil cores revealed that the initial HgCl₂ was partly reduced to metallic Hg(0) and that Hg forms of different mobility and oxidation state coexist in the subsurface. The most contaminated sample (K2-8, 802 mg kg^-1 Hg) had a bulk δ²⁰²Hg value of around -0.43 ± 0.06‰ (2SD), similar to published average values for industrial Hg sources. Other sample signatures varied significantly with depth and between SEP pools. The most Hg-rich samples conta

SUBMITTER: Brocza FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6610540 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature