Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 407, Issue 1, Pages 178-184Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.07.031
Keywords
Mercury; Methylmercury; Zebra mussel; Bioavailability; Trophic transfer; Ebro River
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Environment
- ACA (Generalitat de Catalunya)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas
- MCyT
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Large amounts of industrial waste containing high concentrations of mercury (up to 436 mu g/g) are dumped in a reservoir adjacent to a chlor-alkali plant in Flix (Catalonia, Spain), on the lower Ebro River. In order to assess the spatial redistribution of mercury from the point source and its bioavailability to the aquatic food web, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were collected at several sites. The highest total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations ever reported for zebra mussels were found (THg: 0.02 to 0.81 mu g/g ww; MeHg: 0.22 to 0.60 mu g/g ww). At the most polluted site, close to the waste dump, the mean values were 20 times greater than the local background level. Concentrations decreased with increasing mussel size at all sites. The MeHg/THg ratio was ca. 60% (range: 50-80%). A comparison of similar size classes clearly indicated the hot spots of Hg bioavailability to the aquatic food web and downstream transport. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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