Atmospheric mercury mapping in a cinnabar mining area

Edner, Hans; Ragnarson, P; Svanberg, Sune; Wallinder, E; Ferrara, R.; Maserti, Biancaelena; Bargagli, Roberto

doi:10.1016/0048-9697(93)90110-r

Cited by 38 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Amiata are by Ferrara et al (1982Ferrara et al ( , 1991 and Breder et al (1983). More recently, Breder and Flucht (1984), Edner et al (1993), Ferrara et al (1998) and Bacci et al (2000) have provided atmospheric Hg data close to both the geothermal plants and the mining areas of Abbadia San Salvatore, Siele and Morone. According to their data, obtained by sucking air on gold traps at a constant flow rate (0.5-1 L min À 1 ) after which the amalgamated Hg was electrothermally desorbed and determined by AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of gaseous Hg in the Mercury mining district of Mt. Amiata (Central Italy): A geochemical survey prior the reclamation project

Vaselli

Higueras

Nisi

et al. 2013

Environmental Research

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The Mt. Amiata volcano is the youngest and largest volcanic edifice in Tuscany (central-northern Italy) and is characterized by a geothermal field, exploited for the production of electrical energy. In the past Mt. Amiata was also known as a world-class Hg district whose mining activity was mainly distributed in the central-eastern part of this silicic volcanic complex, and particularly in the municipality of Abbadia San Salvatore. In the present work we report a geochemical survey on Hg(0) measurements related to the former mercury mine facilities prior the reclamation project. The Hg(0) measurements were carried out by car for long distance regional surveys, and on foot for local scale surveys by using two LUMEX (915+ and M) devices. This study presents the very first Hg(0) data obtained with this analytical technique in the Mt. Amiata area. The facilities related to the mining areas and structures where cinnabar was converted to metallic Hg are characterized by high Hg values (>50,000ngm(-3)), although the urban center of Abbadia San Salvatore, few hundred meters away, does not appear to be receiving significant pollution from the calcine area and former industrial edifices, all the recorded values being below the values recommended by the issuing Tuscany Region authorities (300ngm(-3)) and in some cases approaching the Hg background levels (3-5ngm(-3)) for the Mt. Amiata area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of gaseous Hg in the Mercury mining district of Mt. Amiata (Central Italy): A geochemical survey prior the reclamation project

Vaselli

Higueras

Nisi

et al. 2013

Environmental Research

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“…Key buildings within the ASSM are shown in Figure S1.1 in the supporting information. At ASSM, cinnabar-containing ore was first crushed and heated to 650-700°C in rotary furnaces to liberate gaseous elemental Hg (GEM), which was then condensed and refined through distillation (Bellander et al, 1998;Edner et al, 1993). It was estimated that between 1943 and 1973 approximately 8,000 T of Hg (out of 50,000 T produced) was emitted to air, soil, and water of the surrounding environment (Baldi & Bargagli, 1984).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The characterization of atmospheric Hg concentration variability and emissions in and around area sources, in particular former Hg mines, has been attempted previously. Atmospheric Hg concentrations have been measured using active monitoring instruments (Kocman et al, ; Lyman & Gustin, ; Vaselli et al, ) or Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR), a remote sensing technique (Edner et al, ; Ferrara, Mazzolai, et al, ; Grönlund et al, ). Emissions have been estimated by LIDAR (Ferrara, Mazzolai, et al, ; Ferrara, Maserti, et al, ; Grönlund et al, ), contaminated soil reaction‐based models (Gustin et al, ), or by scaling up flux chamber measurements (Engle et al, ; Ferrara, Mazzolai, et al, ; Gustin et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization and Quantification of Atmospheric Mercury Sources Using Passive Air Samplers

et al. 2019

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The Minamata Convention on Mercury (Hg) requires improved atmospheric Hg monitoring and characterization of Hg sources. Here we demonstrate how a network of passive air samplers (PASs) can be used cost effectively to determine the spatial distribution of gaseous Hg and estimate atmospheric Hg emissions at contaminated sites. Gaseous Hg concentrations were mapped around a former Hg mine in the Monte Amiata district in Italy using simultaneous deployments of PASs across local and regional spatial scale grids. The concentration maps help visualize with great detail and precision the dispersal of gaseous Hg from a contaminated site, revealing even subtle effects of wind, season, and minor sources. Emissions estimated from the empirical data (80 ± 40 and 150 ± 75 kg/year for October and July, respectively) were robust to changes in the most uncertain parameters (excess Hg in the air above the mine and advection rate) and compared well to previous estimates for this and other closed Hg mines. This PAS‐based approach has a number of advantages: (i) concurrent deployments of multiple samplers constrain concentration changes to spatial variability only, (ii) time‐averaged data over longer periods negate biases related to short‐term, infrequent measurements, (iii) more spatially representative estimates of Hg distributions and emissions can be made at a fraction of the cost, and (iv) use is easy, especially in difficult terrain. Time‐averaged data across a broad area are also most pertinent for assessing chronic human exposure, especially in terms of the inhalation of Hg by workers and residents living close to contaminated sites.

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“…In view of the high probability of certain electronic transitions of Hg 0 (g), geophysical mercury emission monitoring including geothermal vents, mines and point-sources using laser-powered optical spectroscopy has proved to be a potent, near real-time tool not only for quantification but also for spatial resolution of airborne Hg 0 (Edner et al, 1993;Wängberg et al, 2003). Direct spectroscopic methods using 2-Photon LIF for prompt (10 Hz) monitoring of ambient fluxes have recently been suggested by Bauer et al (2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Relaxed Eddy Accumulation Technique to Quantify Hg0 Fluxes Over Modified Soil Surfaces

Olofsson

Sommar

Ljungström

et al. 2005

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Fluxes of mercury from a waste repository and from an agricultural field amended with sewage sludge were measured. The measurements were performed by utilising a Relaxed Eddy Accumulation (REA) system synchronously coupled to automated mercury cold vapour atomic fluorescence analysers (CVAFA). The waste repository was severely contaminated and fluxes of between 0.16 µg m −2 h −1 and 29 µg m −2 h −1 could be measured. Fluxes at the slightly contaminated agricultural field measured between 8 ng m −2 h −1 and 1.9 µg m −2 h −1 . The results showed that the REA-CVAFA system could be used for measurements above both severely-and slightly contaminated soils. The measurements at the chlor-alkali plant showed that temperature was the most important parameter controlling the release of mercury at this site. At the agricultural field, the measurements indicated that both solar radiation and temperature may have influenced the emissions. Most of the mercury added to the field was lost to the atmosphere during the summer season.

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Atmospheric mercury mapping in a cinnabar mining area

Cited by 38 publications

References 15 publications

Distribution of gaseous Hg in the Mercury mining district of Mt. Amiata (Central Italy): A geochemical survey prior the reclamation project

Distribution of gaseous Hg in the Mercury mining district of Mt. Amiata (Central Italy): A geochemical survey prior the reclamation project

Characterization and Quantification of Atmospheric Mercury Sources Using Passive Air Samplers

Application of Relaxed Eddy Accumulation Technique to Quantify Hg0 Fluxes Over Modified Soil Surfaces

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