Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
Volume 157, Issue 1-4, Pages 125-135Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-008-0522-0
Keywords
Mercury; Sediment; Fractionation
Categories
Funding
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Brazil
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The Iron Quadrangle (IQ) region, located in the state of Minas Gerais, has been the most important gold producing area in Brazil since the end of seventeenth century. The use of mercury for gold amalgamation in small scale mines has been responsible for large release of Hg to aquatic and terrestrial environments during 300 years of mining. The present work sought to evaluate the fractionation of Hg in stream sediments is the southern region of the IQ by utilizing sequential extraction. Since mobility and availability of Hg are related to its distribution among sediment partitions, fractionation methods provide detailed information on the ecotoxicological impact and risks associated to the presence of Hg in sediments. The total Hg concentration varied from 179.3 to 690.1 mu g kg (-aEuro parts per thousand 1) and Hg-0 accounted for the majority at all sample sites, ranging from 42% to 56% of the total.
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