Mercury in the Madeira River ecosystem, Rondônia, Brazil

Pfeiffer, Wolfgang C.; Malm, Olaf; Souza, Cristina Maria Magalhães de; Lacerda, Luiz Drude de; Silveira, Ene Glória da; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues

doi:10.1016/0378-1127(91)90145-l

Cited by 78 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Martinelli et al, 1988;Palheta and Taylor, 1995;Pfeiffer et al, 1989Pfeiffer et al, , 1991Pfeiffer et al, , 1993. Environmental studies in this region suggest that there may be two important sources for mercury contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…During the rainy season, numerous fish species and invertebrates migrate to the flooded areas (Goulding, 1980). These sites are particularly favorable for mercury methylation due to important quantities of suspended organic matter, high temperature, acidic pH, and redox potential (Guimara es et al, 1995) Studies on the mercury content of fish in the Amazonian river system have shown that levels often surpass 0.5 g/g fresh weight Boischio et al, 1995;Lacerda and Salomons, 1991;Lebel et al, 1997;Malm et al, 1995;Pfeiffer et al, 1991). This level is considered in many countries as a standard not to be exceeded for safe fish consumption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Environmental studies in this region suggest that there may be two important sources for mercury contamination. The most well-known is gold mining activities (Martinelli et al, 1988;Malm et al, 1990;Lacerda and Salomons, 1991;Pfeiffer et al, 1991Pfeiffer et al, , 1993. Gold-mining operations are responsible for the emission of an estimated 130 tons of mercury per year into the local environment (Lacerda and Salomons, 1991;Pfeiffer and Lacerda, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Neurotoxic Effects of Low-Level Methylmercury Contamination in the Amazonian Basin

Lebel

Mergler

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et al. 1998

Environmental Research

280

155

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neurotoxic Effects of Low-Level Methylmercury Contamination in the Amazonian Basin

Lebel

Mergler

Branches³

et al. 1998

Environmental Research

280

155

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“…Gold mining of alluvial sediments using amalgamation is one of the greatest contributions for the Amazon mercury (Hg) contamination (Pfeiffer and Lacerda 1988;Pfeiffer et al 1991;Malm 1998). This is followed by deforestation and forest burning (Lacerda 1995), degassing from soils (Almeida et al 2005) together with loss by soil erosion (Roulet et al1999;Roulet et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood pulse and spatial dynamics of mercury in sediments in Puruzinho lake, Brazilian Amazon

et al. 2014

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The study was conducted in Puruzinho lake (Humaitá, AM) considering seasonal periods of rainy and dry in way to elucidate the flood pulse importance in the deposition, remobilization and distributions of mercury and organic matter in bottom sediments in the Madeira River Basin (Brazilian Amazon). Bottom sediments and soils samples were analyzed for total mercury and organic matter. Mercury concentrations obtained in bottom sediment were 32.20-146.40 ng g -1 and organic matter values were 3.5 -18.0%. The main region for accumulation of mercury and organic matter was in the central and deepest lake area In the rainy season there was a greater distribution of Hg and organic matter, mainly controlled by means of income of the Madeira river water during flooding, while the predominant process in the dry season was the remobilization of total Hg due to the resuspension of bottom sediments.

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“…Two mercury sources appear to be implicated in this contamination: gold mining activities (Martinelli et al, 1988;Malm et al, 1990;Lacerda and Salomons, 1991;Pfeiffer et al, 1991;Pfeiffer et al, 1993) and slash and burn agricultural practices resulting in lixiviation of soils, loaded with natural mercury, to the aquatic system (Roulet et al, 1996a(Roulet et al, ,1996b. The studies on mercury content of fish in the Amazonian river system have shown that levels often surpass 0.5 Jig/g fresh weight (Pfeiffer et al, 1991;Lacerda and Salomons, 1991;Barbosa et al, 1995;Malm et al, 1995a), a value that is considered in many countries as a standard not to be exceeded for safe consumption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%