Trace Elements, With Special Reference to Mercury, in Fish Collected Upstream and Downstream of Los Alamos National Laboratory

Abstract

Trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cr, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Tl) were determined in muscle (fillet) of average sized fish (mostly carp, catfkh, and sucker) collected from the confluences of major canyons that cross Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) lands with the Rio Grande (RG). Also, trace elements were determined in fish from reservoirs upstream (Abiquiu [AR]) and downstream (Cochiti [CR]) of LANL from 1991 through 1999. In general, all of the (mean) trace elements, including Hg, were either at the limits of detection (LOD) or in low concentrations at all study sites. Of the trace elements (e.g., Ba, Cu, and Hg) that were found to be above the LOD in fish muscle collected from LANL canyons/RG, none were in significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentrations than in muscle of fish collected from background locations. Mercury concentrations (mean of means) in fish from AR (all other trace elements were at LOD) were significantly higher (p < 0.10) than Hg concentrations in fish from CR, and Hg concentrations in fish collected from both reservoirs exhibited significantly (AR = p <0.05 and CR = p < 0.10) decreasing trends over time.

Mercury in Fish Collected Upstream and Downstream of Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico: 1991--2004.

“…As part of the environmental surveillance program at LANL, fish have been collected on an annual basis upstream and downstream of LANL to determine if there are any contaminants arising in these important resources as a result of Laboratory operations (Fresquez et al, , 1999a(Fresquez et al, , 1999bGonzales et al, 1999). The purpose of this paper is to report the concentrations of Hg in muscle (fillet) tissues of various fish species and trophic levels collected at Abiquiu reservoir (AR), which is upstream of LANL, and at Cochiti reservoir (CR), which is downstream of LANL, from 1991 through 2004.…”