Mercury Contamination in Costa Rica

Abstract

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and a particularly formidable environmental contaminant. Mercury is present in the environment largely as a result of modern industrial emissions as well as 'legacy-Hg' from past contamination; however, some areas have high natural background levels also, largely from volcanic and geothermal sources. Recent work suggested that Costa Rica airshed may be highly contaminated with natural mercury. Castillo et al. (Applied Geochemistry, 2011) reported total gaseous Hg (TGM) in the ambient air of Costa Rica exceeding expected values by orders