Status and trends of mercury pollution of the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in Poland

Jędruch, Agnieszka; Falkowska, Lucyna; Saniewska, Dominika; Durkalec, Maciej; Nawrocka, Agnieszka; Kalisińska, Elżbieta; Kowalski, Artur; Pacyna, Józef M.

doi:10.1007/s13280-021-01505-1

Cited by 19 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…These results were similar to those measured in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea in 1993 by Perttilä et al (2003), which had ranged from 13 to 406 ng g −1 , as well as those observed in 2001-2008 by HELCOM (2010), which had ranged from 40 to 300 ng g −1 . This may indicate that despite the systematic reduction of the Hg emission to the environment (KOBIZE 2019;Jędruch et al 2021) and Hg inflow to the Baltic since the beginning of the 1990s (HELCOM 2009; EMEP 2018), the Hg concentration in surface sediments has not decreased significantly.…”

Section: Surface Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Kwasigroch

Bełdowska

Jędruch

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The study aimed to determine the level of mercury (Hg) and its labile and stable forms in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. The work considers the impact of current and historical sources of Hg on sediment pollution, together with the influence of different environmental parameters, including water inflows from the North Sea. Surface sediments (top 5 cm) were collected in 2016–2017 at 91 stations located in different areas of the Baltic Sea, including Belt Sea, Arkona Basin, Bornholm Basin, Gdańsk Basin, West Gotland Basin, East Gotland Basin, and the Bothnian Sea. Besides, the particulate matter suspended in the surface and near-bottom water was also collected. The analysis of total Hg concentration and individual Hg forms in collected samples was carried out using a 5-step thermodesorption method. This method allows for the identification of three labile and thus biologically available, fractions of Hg, which are mercury halides, organic Hg, mercury oxide and sulphate. Two stable fractions, mercury sulphide and residual Hg, were also determined. The highest Hg concentrations, reaching 341 ng g−1, were measured in the highly industrialised Kiel Bay, which was additionally a munition dumping site during and after World War II. High Hg level, ranging from 228 to 255 ng g−1, was also recorded in the surface sediments of the Arkona Basin, which was a result of the cumulative effect of several factors, such as deposition of Hg-rich riverine matter, favourable hydrodynamic conditions and military activities in the past. The relatively elevated Hg concentrations, varying from 60 to 264 ng g−1, were found in the Gdańsk Basin, a region under strong anthropopressure and dominated by soft sediments. The sum of labile Hg in sediments was high and averaged 67% (with the domination of organic Hg compounds), which means that a large part of Hg can be released to the water column. It was found that the water inflows from the North Sea intensify the remobilisation of Hg and its transformation into bioavailable labile forms. As a consequence, the load of Hg introduced into the trophic chain can increase. Despite the significant reduction of Hg emission into the Baltic in the last decades, surface sediments can be an important secondary Hg source in the marine ecosystem. This is especially dangerous in the case of the western Baltic Sea.

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Section: Surface Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Kwasigroch

Bełdowska

Jędruch

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…Our analyses show that the amount of Hg accumulated in grey heron eggshells was primarily influenced by the relative fraction of industrial areas, inland waters, and scrub vegetations ( Table 4 ). In Europe, industrial and energy sectors serve as the main emitters of Hg into the environment [ 42 , 43 ]. Considering grey heron diet composition, aquatic prey, including fish, seems to be the main source of Hg for the studied grey heron eggshells.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Factors Affecting Environmental Contamination Represented by Post-Hatching Eggshells of a Common Colonial Waterbird with Usage of Artificial Neural Networks

Sujak

Jakubas

Kitowski

et al. 2022

Sensors

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Artificial Neural Networks are used to find the influence of habitat types on the quality of the environment expressed by the concentrations of toxic and harmful elements in avian tissue. The main habitat types were described according to the Corine Land Cover CLC2012 model. Eggs of free-living species of a colonial waterbird, the grey heron Ardea cinerea, were used as a biological data storing media for biomonitoring. For modeling purposes, pollution indices expressing the sum of the concentration of harmful and toxic elements (multi-contamination rank index) and indices for single elements were created. In the case of all the examined indices apart from Cd, the generated topologies were a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) with 1 hidden layer. Interestingly, in the case of Cd, the generated optimal topology was a network with a radial basis function (RBF). The data analysis showed that the increase in environmental pollution was mainly influenced by human industrial activity. The increase in Hg, Cd, and Pb content correlated mainly with the increase in the areas characterized by human activity (industrial, commercial, and transport units) in the vicinity of a grey heron breeding colony. The decrease in the above elements was conditioned by relative areas of farmland and inland waters. Pollution with Fe, Mn, Zn, and As was associated mainly with areas affected by industrial activities. As the location variable did not affect the quality of the obtained networks, it was removed from the models making them more universal.

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“…In the past two decades, the reviews of atmospheric emissions of TEs, or specific aspects of it, have previously been reported in several works. ,− For example, Fisher and Nelson analyzed recent research on atmospheric Hg emissions in Australia, highlighting that Hg emissions in Australia from terrestrial sources significantly exceed those from anthropogenic sources . Dastoor et al presented a comprehensive assessment of atmospheric Hg emissions in the Arctic, indicating that the magnitudes of annual Arctic terrestrial Hg emissions from anthropogenic, wildfire, and soil and vegetation revolatilization sources were approximately 14, 8.8, and 24 Mg, respectively .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives of Atmospheric Emission Inventories of Toxic Trace Elements: A Critical Review

Bai

Tian

Zhu

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Toxic trace elements (TEs) can pose serious risks to ecosystems and human health. However, a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric emission inventories for several concerning TEs has not yet been developed. In this study, we systematically reviewed the status and progress of existing research in developing atmospheric emission inventories of TEs focusing on global, regional, and sectoral scales. Multiple studies have strengthened our understanding of the global emission of TEs, despite attention being mainly focused on Hg and source classification in different studies showing large discrepancies. In contrast to those of developed countries and regions, the officially published emission inventory is still lacking in developing countries, despite the fact that studies on evaluating the emissions of TEs on a national scale or one specific source category have been numerous in recent years. Additionally, emissions of TEs emitted from waste incineration and traffic-related sources have produced growing concern with worldwide rapid urbanization. Although several studies attempt to estimate the emissions of TEs based on PM emissions and its source-specific chemical profiles, the emission factor approach is still the universal method. We call for more extensive and in-depth studies to establish a precise localization national emission inventory of TEs based on adequate field measurements and comprehensive investigation to reduce uncertainty.

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Status and trends of mercury pollution of the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in Poland

Cited by 19 publications

References 82 publications

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Identification of Factors Affecting Environmental Contamination Represented by Post-Hatching Eggshells of a Common Colonial Waterbird with Usage of Artificial Neural Networks

Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives of Atmospheric Emission Inventories of Toxic Trace Elements: A Critical Review

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