In-depth review of atmospheric mercury: sources, transformations, and potential sinks

Abstract

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that is found naturally throughout the global environment. During the last 100 years, there has been a 70% rise in atmospheric mercury levels over the natural background measured prior to industrialization due to anthropogenic emissions. This increase in mercury levels represents a global threat to the health of ecosystems and humans worldwide. Atmospheric mercury chemistry is complex and its sources and sinks involve equilibrium interactions between the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the geosphere. This review outlines the fundamental chemistry of mercury in gas, aqueous, and solid phases, including inorganic, organic, and complexed mercury species. An understanding of this chemistry is important for understanding the cycling between the various environmental compartments as it affects atmospheric loadings. Further, many of these reactions can also occur in the atmosphere in heterogeneous gas/cloud/aerosol interactions. The sources and fate of mercury in the atmosphere, including the cycling of mercury through soil and water as it impacts atmospheric loadings are therefore examined. The sources of major uncertainties in our understanding of mercury in the atmosphere are also discussed, along with recommendations for future studies that include both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions of the various mercury species.

A Highly Sensitive and Selective Colorimetric Hg2+ Ion Probe Using Gold Nanoparticles Functionalized with Polyethyleneimine

“…This optimum pH of the PEI-AuNP probe must be something to do with pKa of tertiary amine and the conformation of PEI [ 38 ]. Thus, Hg 2+ must be optimally coordinated to nitrogen elements of PEI in its N-tetrahedral form at pH 7, leading to the highest sensitivity of the probe [ 39 ].…”

Control of mercury emissions: policies, technologies, and future trends

“…Mercury emissions mainly come from two types of sources: natural and anthropogenic. 2,[14][15][16][17] Natural sources can be described as mercury released from the Earth's crust by the continuous and ubiquitous natural weathering of mercury-containing rocks or by geothermal activity, or mercury emitted during episodic events such as volcanic eruptions. Anthropogenic sources can be expressed as mercury released as a result of human activities, such as burning fuels, and raw materials in industrial processes.…”

The determination of mercury levels in the blood and hair of rabbits with amalgam fillings

“…Int Dent Res 2020;10(1):12-16. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2020.vol10.no1.3 zinc (Zn) (1)(2)(3). Although alternative materials are increasingly used for posterior fillings, amalgam is still one of the popular filling materials (4)(5)(6)(7).…”