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Monteiro LC, Vieira LCG, Bernardi JVE, Bastos WR, de Souza JPR, Recktenvald MCNDN, Nery AFDC, Oliveira IADS, Cabral CDS, Moraes LDC, Filomeno CL, de Souza JR. Local and landscape factors influencing mercury distribution in water, bottom sediment, and biota from lakes of the Araguaia River floodplain, Central Brazil. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168336. [PMID: 37949140 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a chemical element widely present in the Earth's crust. However, its high toxicity and ability to accumulate in organisms and biomagnify through food chains characterize it as a global pollutant of primary control. We assessed total mercury concentrations ([THg]) in abiotic and biotic compartments from 98 floodplain lakes associated with the Araguaia River and six tributaries (Midwest Brazil). [THg] quantification in water was performed by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. [THg] in bottom sediment was assessed using cold vapor generation atomic absorption spectrophotometry, while [THg] in macrophyte, periphyton, and plankton were quantified by thermal decomposition atomic absorption spectrometry. Hotspots of [THg] in water, bottom sediment, and macrophytes were determined in areas impacted by pasture and urban areas. In contrast, hotspots of [THg] in periphyton and forest fires were determined in preserved areas downstream. [THg] in plankton did not show a clear spatial distribution pattern. The mean bioaccumulation factor order was plankton (2.3 ± 1.8) > periphyton (1.3 ± 0.9) > macrophytes (0.7 ± 0.4) (KW = 55.09, p < 0.0001). Higher [THg] in water and bottom sediment were associated with high pH (R2adj = 0.118, p = 0.004) and organic matter (R2adj = 0.244, p < 0.0001). [THg] in macrophytes were positively influenced by [THg] in water (R2adj = 0.063, p = 0.024) and sediment (R2adj = 0.105, p = 0.007). [THg] in periphyton are positively related to forest fires (R2adj = 0.156, p = 0.009) and [THg] in macrophytes (R2adj = 0.061, p = 0.03) and negatively related to lake depth (R2adj = 0.045, p = 0.02). The transfer of Hg from water and sediment to the biota is limited. However, the progressive increase of the bioaccumulation factor between macrophyte, periphyton, and plankton may indicate Hg biomagnification along the food chain of the Araguaia River floodplain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Cabrera Monteiro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
| | - Ludgero Cardoso Galli Vieira
- Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais e Limnológicas, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Universidade de Brasília, Planaltina, DF, Brazil
| | - José Vicente Elias Bernardi
- Laboratório de Geoestatística e Geodésia, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Universidade de Brasília, Planaltina, DF, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Cássio da Silva Cabral
- Laboratório de Biogeoquímica Ambiental, Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Porto Velho, RO, Brazil
| | - Lilian de Castro Moraes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Universidade de Brasília, Planaltina, DF, Brazil
| | - Cleber Lopes Filomeno
- Central Análítica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Jurandir Rodrigues de Souza
- Laboratório de Química Analítica e Ambiental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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High Ecological Health Risks of Potentially Toxic Metals in Polluted Drainage Sediments: Is There a Need for Public Concern during Flash Floods? WATER 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/w14152316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the concentrations of potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in the drainages, rivers, and coast of Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia. The ranges of total PTM concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) were 1.88–7.01 for Cd, 18.9–1689 for Cu, 26.0–850 for Ni, 56.5–307 for Pb, and 75.4–312 for Zn. Based on an ecological risk assessment and geochemical fractions, it was concluded that heavy metals pollute the drainages and the Malacca River. The potential ecological risk index (PERI) categorised the drainage and river sites as a “very high ecological risk”. Therefore, it was shown that elevated levels of PTMs in the drainages near Malacca Industrial Area and in the Malacca River sediment were most probably attributed to untreated (or incomplete treatment of) industrial effluents. The drainage sediments were found to have higher hazard quotient (HQ) values for the three pathways of the PTMs for children and adults. Although in general, the non-carcinogenic risks of the PTMs for children and adults indicated no significant detrimental health effects, the hazard index (HI) for Pb in children at drainage locations surpassed 1.0, suggesting a non-carcinogenic risk (NCR), which is a cause for worry. Consequently, the ecological health risk assessments offered critical information for PTM pollution reduction and environmental management in future sustainable development initiatives in Peninsular Malaysia’s drainages and rivers. The present findings on the ecological health risks of PTMs based on 2006 samples can serve as an important baseline for future reference and comparison. This work should encourage future investigations on the direct impact of the risks to the residents during floods in Malaysia, as part of mitigation and risk assessments of the contaminated drainage and river sediments in an attempt to lower the hazards for the surrounding residents.
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Narayan A, Mac-Quhae C, Rosales J, Mora A. Does Alumina-Refining Waste Increase the Nutrient Level in Tropical Mesotrophic Floodplain Lakes? BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 2021; 107:506-513. [PMID: 34106302 DOI: 10.1007/s00128-021-03279-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Several floodplain lakes of the Orinoco River have been impacted by alkaline alumina-refining waste including red mud, a by-product from the Bayer process. Some of these impacted lakes have undergone algal overgrowth, which has been detected due to the unusual green color of water and the dissolved oxygen oversaturation. Thus, we conducted sampling campaigns in impacted and non-impacted lakes to measure the concentration of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) in water to detect any change in the nutrient levels. Despite the content of N and P in red mud is low, our findings suggest that N is released from red mud accumulated in bed sediments to the water column in the impacted lakes, increasing the content of total N. However, the total P concentrations in impacted lakes were not affected from their background values probably due to the strong adsorptive behavior of P onto red mud minerals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aracelis Narayan
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Guayana, Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
| | - César Mac-Quhae
- Estación de Investigaciones Hidrobiológicas de Guayana, Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
| | - Judith Rosales
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Guayana, Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
| | - Abrahan Mora
- Escuela de ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Reserva Territorial Atlixcáyotl, Campus Puebla, Vía Atlixcáyotl 5718, Puebla, México.
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