On the Chemical Form of Mercury in Edible Fish and Marine Invertebrate Tissue
01 May 1992-Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (NRC Research Press Ottawa, Canada)-Vol. 49, Iss: 5, pp 1010-1017
TL;DR: In this paper, total mercury, monomethylmercury (CH3Hg), and dimethylmerc mercury ((CH3)2Hg) in edible muscle were examined in 229 samples, representing seven freshwater and eight saltwater fish species and several sp...
Abstract: Total mercury, monomethylmercury (CH3Hg), and dimethylmercury ((CH3)2Hg) in edible muscle were examined in 229 samples, representing seven freshwater and eight saltwater fish species and several sp...
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TL;DR: The current state of knowledge on the physicochemical behavior of mercury in the aquatic environment, and in particular the environmental factors influencing its transformation into highly toxic methylated forms is examined in this paper.
Abstract: Mercury is one of the most hazardous contaminants that may be present in the aquatic environment, but its ecological and toxicological effects are strongly dependent on the chemical species present. Species distribution and transformation processes in natural aquatic systems are controlled by various physical, chemical, and biological factors. Depending on the prevailing environmental conditions, inorganic mercury species may be converted to many times more toxic methylated forms such as methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin that is readily accumulated by aquatic biota. Despite a considerable amount of literature on the subject, the behavior of mercury and many of the transformation and distribution mechanisms operating in the natural aquatic environment are still poorly understood. This review examines the current state of knowledge on the physicochemical behavior of mercury in the aquatic environment, and in particular the environmental factors influencing its transformation into highly toxic methylated forms.
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TL;DR: The aquatic ecotoxicology of organotins is reviewed based on a multidisciplinary approach involving environmental chemical, toxicological, and ecological aspects, and the influence of speciation for bioavailability, basic modes of toxic action, and aquatic toxicity are discussed.
Abstract: Organotin compounds are ubiquitous contaminants in the environment. The high biological activity of some compounds toward aquatic organisms lead to deleterious impacts in aquatic ecosystems. Here, the aquatic ecotoxicology of organotins is reviewed based on a multidisciplinary approach involving environmental chemical, toxicological, and ecological aspects. Basic results were obtained both with field and laboratory studies, and some of the most important recent results and conclusions are critically reviewed. The contamination of and fate in aquatic systems is reported and linked with effects at different levels of biological organization. Major emphasis is placed on the development of a concept of ecotoxicology that encompasses not only effect assessment alone, but also integrates environmental chemistry with aquatic toxicology. Thereby, the influence of speciation for bioavailability, basic modes of toxic action, and aquatic toxicity are discussed. This case study on organotins allows to a certain extent generalizations to ecotoxicology in general.
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TL;DR: A critique of the current state of knowledge about effects of Hg on wildlife is presented as an aid to identifying missing information and to planning research needed for conducting a complete assessment of HG risks to wildlife.
Abstract: Wildlife may be exposed to mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) from a variety of environmental sources, including mine tailings, industrial effluent, agricultural drainwater, impoundments, and atmospheric deposition from electric power generation. Terrestrial and aquatic wildlife may be at risk from exposure to waterborne Hg and MeHg. The transformation of inorganic Hg by anaerobic sediment microorganisms in the water column produces MeHg, which bioaccumulates at successive trophic levels in the food chain. If high trophic level feeders, such as piscivorous birds and mammals, ingest sufficient MeHg in prey and drinking water, Hg toxicoses, including damage to nervous, excretory and reproductive systems, result. Currently accepted no observed adverse effect levels (NOAELs) for waterborne Hg in wildlife have been developed from the piscivorous model in which most dietary Hg is in the methyl form. Such model are not applicable to omnivores, insectivores, and other potentially affected groups, and have not incorpotated data from other important matrices, such as eggs and muscle. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the Hg literature as it relates to effects on wildlife, including previously understudied groups. We present a critique of the current state of knowledge about effects of Hg on wildlife as an aid to identifying missing information and to planning research needed for conducting a complete assessment of Hg risks to wildlife. This review summarizes the toxicity of Hg to birds and mammals, the mechanisms of Hg toxicity, the measurement of Hg in biota, and interpretation of residue data.
836 citations
Cites background or methods from "On the Chemical Form of Mercury in ..."
...In addition, the EC detector, which measures the halide rather than the Hg atom, is prone to matrix interference from known and unknown halogen-containing species in the typical laboratory [138]....
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...In addition, all methods that employ an acid extraction step convert dimethylmercury to the monomethylmercury form, thus diminishing the speciation information gained from that analysis [138]....
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01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, Wiener et al. discuss the evolution of the Environmental Mercury Problem and present a global-scale Environmental Cycling and Fate model to evaluate the impact of Mercury on the environment.
Abstract: James G. Wiener, David P. Krabbenhoft, Gary H. Heinz, and Anton M. ScheuhammerCONTENTS16.1 Introduction 409
16.2 Evolution of the Environmental Mercury Problem 410
16.3 Global-Scale Environmental Cycling and Fate 413
16.4 Mercury Speciation and Environmental Concentrations 415
718 citations
References
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TL;DR: A technique is presented, which allows the rapid and precise determination of methylmercury in aqueous samples, and allows the simultaneous determination of labile Hg(II) species, through the formation of diethylMERcury, and of dimethylmercuries, which is not ethylated.
Abstract: A technique is presented, which allows the rapid and precise determination of methylmercury in aqueous samples The sample is first reacted with sodium tetraethylborate, to convert the nonvolatile
842 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, fish were sampled from 35 drainage and seepage lakes in the upper Michigan peninsula and Wisconsin in conjunction with Phase II of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Eastern Lake Survey to explore the relationship between physicochemical characteristics of lakes and mercury concentrations in fish tissue.
Abstract: Fish were sampled from 35 drainage and seepage lakes in the upper Michigan peninsula and Wisconsin in conjunction with Phase II of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Eastern Lake Survey to explore the relationship between physicochemical characteristics of lakes and mercury concentrations in fish tissue. The lakes were selected using a stratified random design weighted for low pH to assess acidification effects on mercury bioaccumulation. Muscle tissue from yellow perch (Perca flavescens), northern pike (Esox lucius), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) was analyzed for total and methylmercury. Differences in mercury concentrations were found between species, and methylmercury accounted for 99% of total mercury. Relationships were examined between tissue concentrations of mercury in yellow perch and lake physicochemical variables including pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), calcium, conductivity, aluminum, total phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, color, sulfate, lake area, lake depth, watershed area, Secchi depth and elevation. Mercury concentrations were negatively correlated with pH and ANC for both seepage and drainage lakes, but correlations with other water-quality characteristics varied with lake type. Dissolved organic carbon had a negative correlation with fish mercury accumulation in seepage lakes, but not in drainage lakes. Mercury concentrations had a positive correlation with age, weight and length in yellow perch.
385 citations
TL;DR: It was found that if 100 mg of tin(II) chloride alone were added instead of the tin( II) chloride-cadmium chloride reagent, only the release of inorganic mercury influenced the peak deflection of the potentiometer, thus permitting the selective determination of in organic mercury in the presence of methylmercury.
Abstract: A simple method for the determination of total mercury in biological samples contaminated with inorganic mercury and methylmercury is described The method is based on the rapid conversion of organomercurials first into inorganic mercury and then into atomic mercury suitable for aspiration through the gas cell of a mercury vapour concentration meter, by a combined tin(II) chloride-cadmium chloride reagent It was found that if 100 mg of tin(II) chloride alone were added instead of the tin(II) chloride-cadmium chloride reagent, only the release of inorganic mercury influenced the peak deflection of the potentiometer, thus permitting the selective determination of inorganic mercury in the presence of methylmercury It was possible first to release inorganic mercury then, after re-acidification of the reaction mixture, methylmercury, by adding the tin(II) chloride-cadmium chloride reagent and sodium hydroxide When total mercury and inorganic mercury were determined separately, the difference between results gave the methylmercury content of the sample
345 citations
01 Mar 1985
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sampler in a classical hydrographic manner to collect open ocean seawater samples collected at depth using a tested polymer chloride sampler.
Abstract: Severe mercury contamination (30 times ambient levels) was observed in open ocean seawater samples collected at depth using a tested polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sampler in a classical hydrographic manner. Consistently smaller Hg concentrations (0.4 to 2.0 ng l−1) were obtained with an improvised technique using synthetic line suspended below the metal hydrographic cable; results agreed favorably with collections of the mixed layer obtained by hand and with samples collected at depth using the Schaule-Patterson sampler. These observations and additional tests with a synthetic hydrowire indicate that reactive Hg concentrations in the open ocean are, for the most part, considerably less than previously reported. While Hg distributions in the open ocean display no distinctive water column features, higher concentrations were observed in the northwest Atlantic Ocean (∼1.0 ng l−1) compared to the North Pacific (∼0.35 ng l−1). First-order geochemical modelling predicts a short (∼500 y) oceanic residence time for Hg, indicating that it may follow pathways in the oceans analogous to other very reactive elements, such as lead and manganese.
160 citations
115 citations