Assessment of Hg contamination by a Chlor-Alkali Plant in riverine and coastal sites combining Hg speciation and isotopic signature (Sagua la Grande River, Cuba)

Feng, Chude; Pedrero, Zoyne; Lima, Liliane Schier de; Olivares, Susana; Rosa, Daniel de la; Bérail, Sylvain; Tessier, E.; Pannier, Florence; Amouroux, David

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.02.092

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, all of the studies mentioned in Table 4 report concerns associated with one or several of the following: wet and dry deposition of Hg in soils, a potential re-release of Hg from sinks including soils and sediments, leaching from wastes disposed on the plants' territory, and bioaccumulation of Hg in the site's biota. There are increasingly more reported cases of Hg pollution resulting from operations of chlor-alkali (e.g., Sagua La Grande, Cuba [95,96]; Angara River, Russia [97]; Neratovice, Czech Republic [98]) and aldehyde plants (e.g., Ravenna, Italy [99]) worldwide indicating how prevailing is the problem. They also demonstrate the value in reporting the current situation and sharing lessons learned in environmental assessment, risk characterization, and remediation responses of all individual cases.…”

Section: Comparison With Cases From Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Güney

Akimzhanova

Kumisbek

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury (Hg) emissions from anthropogenic sources pose a global problem. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s central and northern regions are among the most severely Hg-contaminated territories. This is due to two former acetaldehyde (in Temirtau) and chlor-alkali (in Pavlodar) plants, discharges from which during the second half of the 20th century were estimated over 2000 tons of elemental Hg. However, the exact quantities of Hg released through atmospheric emissions to the environment, controlled discharges to the nearby aquatic systems, leakages in the cell plant, and contaminated sludge are still unknown. The present review is the initiation of a comprehensive field investigation study on the current state of these contaminated sites. It aims to provide a critical review of published literature on Hg in soils, sediments, water, and biota of the impacted ecosystems (Nura and Irtysh rivers, and Lake Balkyldak and their surrounding areas). It furthermore compares these contamination episodes with selected similar international cases as well as reviews and recommends demercuration efforts. The findings indicate that the contamination around the acetaldehyde plant site was significant and mainly localized with the majority of Hg deposited in topsoils and riverbanks within 25 km from the discharge point. In the chlor-alkali plant site, Lake Balkyldak in North Kazakhstan is the most seriously contaminated receptor. The local population of both regions might still be exposed to Hg due to fish consumption illegally caught from local rivers and reservoirs. Since the present field data is limited mainly to investigations conducted before 2010 and given the persisting contamination and nature of Hg, a recent up-to-date environmental assessment for both sites is highly needed, particularly around formerly detected hotspots. Due to incomplete site remediation efforts, recommendations given by several researchers for the territories of the former chlor-alkali and acetaldehyde plant site include ex-situ soil washing, soil pulping with gravitational separation, ultrasound and transgenic algae for sediments, and electrokinetic recovery for the former and removal and/or confinement of contaminated silt deposits and soils for the latter. However, their efficiency first needs to be validated. Findings and lessons from these sites will be useful not only on the local scale but also are valuable resources for the assessment and management of similar contaminated sites around the globe.

show abstract

Section: Comparison With Cases From Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Güney

Akimzhanova

Kumisbek

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous studies have shown that the average global 202 Hg composition for industrial Hg source materials varies considerably and is c. -0.65 ± 0.56‰ with respect to NIST-3133 (Grigg et al 2018) and that the global atmospheric 202 Hg of elemental mercury is 0.24 ± 0.24‰ (Jiskra et al 2015). Feng (2019) assessed the mixing of mercury from a chloralkali plant (+0.42‰ 202 Hg) and mercury from a natural background (-0.49‰ 202 Hg) and shows that the speciation and isotopic composition of mercury samples allow for tracing of industrial mercury contamination from contaminated sediments to biota. Wiederhold et al (2015) showed that the range of 202 Hg isotopic composition can vary considerably within contaminated sites (-2.1‰ to 0.6‰ in sites related to the Swedish paper mill industry) and compared to contaminations from similar Hg industry (-0.2‰ to -0.5‰ in sites related to the Swedish chloralkali industry).…”

Section: Source Of the Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking the legacy of early industrial activity in sediments of Lake Zurich, Switzerland: using a novel multi-proxy approach to find the source of extensive metal contamination

Roethlin

Gilli

Wehrli

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Historical industrial activities at the Horn Richterwil, on the shore of Lake Zurich (Switzerland), caused widespread metal contamination on land and in the adjacent lake sediments. This study provides an estimation of the age and source of the contamination by using XRF core scanning, ICP-OES, and Hg-AFS for quantitative measurements of trace metals and MC-ICP-MS for the stable isotope analysis of mercury. Radiometric dating ($$^{137}$$ 137 Cs, $$^{210}$$ 210 Pb, and Pu dating) of two proximal cores and varve chronology in a distal core suggest two different contaminations, one stemming from around 1960 (Zn, Cd) and an earlier one from 1880 (Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sn). The XRF data suggest two different contamination pathways: one by landfill of contaminated soil and another one by industrial wastewater effluents. Maximum concentrations found within all samples are in the range of per mil (dry weight) for Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sn, and Zn and lie within the top 10 cm of the sediment cores. The analysis of the mercury isotopic composition ($$\delta ^{202}$$ δ 202 Hg and $$\Delta ^{199}$$ Δ 199 Hg) shows a significantly different signature for one of the cores, indicating a second mercury source. We could not identify the exact source or process leading to the isotopic fractionation of mercury, but the isotopic data confirm two different sources.

show abstract

“…Results showed an insignificant percentage of MeHg in the sediment relative to total Hg, and the degree of methylation is affected by various environmental factors including the amount of bioavailable total inorganic Hg. Feng et al (2019) investigated Hg isotopes, speciation, concentration, and signature in sediments and biota from Sagua La Grande River and adjacent coastal zone near a chlor-alkali plant in Cuba. At least 50% of the Hg found in coastal oysters (Crassostrea rizophorae) and river catfish (Claria gariepinus) comprised MeHg suggesting impact from the plant.…”

Section: Contaminant Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminated aquatic sediments

Jaglal¹

2020

Water Environment Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Jawed and Krantzberg (2019) identified best practices to follow when remediating sediment sites based on experience gained at the Randle Reef Site in Ontario, Canada. The authors identify a list of challenges to overcome that fall under a broad series of headings that include issues associated with social, regulatory, political, and technical topics. Bianchini, Cento, Guzzini, Pellegrini, and Saccani (2019) reviewed more than 150 historical articles, written over the previous 50 years, to identify alternative

show abstract

Assessment of Hg contamination by a Chlor-Alkali Plant in riverine and coastal sites combining Hg speciation and isotopic signature (Sagua la Grande River, Cuba)

Cited by 23 publications

References 42 publications

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Tracking the legacy of early industrial activity in sediments of Lake Zurich, Switzerland: using a novel multi-proxy approach to find the source of extensive metal contamination

Contaminated aquatic sediments

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About