The content of mercury in sediments around Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Bumela district, Gorontalo Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Gorontalo spread across several regions. One is located in the village Bumela, District Bilato, Gorontalo regency. The processing of gold at the mine site Bumela do with the amalgamation method. The purpose of this study is to assess the content of mercury in sediments around the ASGM Bumela. Sediment sampling sites in Totopo River, Motebo River and ASGM Bumela tailings. The number of sampling point sediment in the river are 15 points. The number of sampling point sediment in tailings location is 2 points. Sampling was done by varying the depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm. To determine the concentration of mercury in the sediment used Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) without a flame in LPPMHP Gorontalo Province. The quality standard levels of mercury in the sediment used European Safety Standard. The average content of mercury in the sediment was 71.36 mg/kg. The average content of mercury in the tailings is 31.95 mg/kg. The content of mercury in Totopo River, Motebo River and the tailings are exceeding the quality standard of European Safety Standard.

Magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal contents in sediments of Riam Kiwa, Riam Kanan and Martapura rivers, Kalimantan Selatan province, Indonesia

“…Hg may also be obtained from gold mines in this area. Gold mining activities can cause mercury pollution in river sediments [ 77 ].…”

Analisis Longitudinal Struktur Komunitas Makrozoobentos yang Tercemar Limbah Pertambangan Emas Skala Kecil di Sungai Cikondang, Jawa Barat

“…Sampling Point 5 merupakan bagian yang paling jauh dari aktivitas penambangan emas, adanya akumulasi merkuri di sedimen pada perairan tersebut dapat dimungkinkan dari aliran air dan sedimen yang terbawa di sepanjang aliran Sungai Cikondang. Hasil penelitian mengenai kontaminasi Hg pada beberapa sungai di Indonesia seperti Sungai Cikaniki dengan akumulasi merkuri pada sedimen 10 -70 mg/kg dan 0,12 mg/kg (Sata Yoshida Srie Rahayu & Wahyu Prihatini, 2019; Tomiyasu et al, 2013), 0,87-1,56 mg/kg di Sungai Ciletuh, Sukabumi (Sunaryani & Ridwan, 2021), dan 16,5 -117,3 mg/kg di Gorontalo, Sulawesi Indonesia (Lihawa & Mahmud, 2019). Aktivitas penambangan emas secara tradisional tanpa adanya pengolahan limbah menyebabkan masuknya kontaminasi merkuri di badan air sungai.…”

Rural Knowledge Transformation in Terms of Mercury Used in Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM)—A Case Study in Gorontalo, Indonesia

“…Opportunities for residents of Gorontalo City, especially those living in the suburbs bordering Bone Bolango, are considered to be high [29], so it was deemed a necessity to involve the city's inhabitants, especially those who are living near the city border. Based on several research results related to mercury in Gorontalo, it was found that the mercury content in the hair of residents in ASGM locations was higher than that of non-ASGM residents, and that the mercury content exceeds the WHO/IPCS threshold in fish and sediment [21,32,33]. Recent studies have found that the mercury content in the soil affects the distribution of Pteris vittata plants, correlating to a visible decrease in the number of these plants around the ASGM area [34].…”