Search results for "methylmercury"

Total mercury and methyl-mercury contents and accumulation in polar microbial mats.

2014

Although polar regions are considered isolated and pristine areas, the organisms that inhabit these zones are exposed to global pollution. Heavy metals, such as mercury, are global pollutants and can reach almost any location on Earth. Mercury may come from natural, volcanic or geological sources, or result from anthropogenic sources, in particular industrial or mining activities. In this study, we have investigated one of the most prominent biological non-marine communities in both polar regions, microbial mats, in terms of their Hg and methyl-mercury (MeHg) concentrations and accumulation capacities. The main hypotheses posed argued on the importance of different factors, and to test them…

Pollutant concentrations in placenta.

2011

Unborn children are exposed to environmental pollutants via the placenta, and there is a causal relationship between maternal intake of pollutants and fetal exposure. Placental examination is an effective way for acquiring data for estimating fetal exposure. We analyzed the concentrations of 104 congeners of persistent organic pollutants, seven organotin compounds, five heavy metals, and methylmercury in 130 randomly selected placentas. Additionally, we examined similarities between pollutant concentrations by analyzing correlations between their placental concentrations. Our results yield new information for conducting contaminant risk assessments for the prenatal period. Out of the 117 in…

Sequestration of (CH3)Hg+ by amino‐polycarboxylic chelating agents

2012

Abstract The speciation of mono-methylmercury(II) cation (MeHg+) in the presence of Nitrilotriacetate (NTA), Ethylenediamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetate (EDTA), diethylenetriamine-N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentaacetate (DTPA) and (S,S)- Ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid (S,S-EDDS) was investigated at I = 0.1 mol L− 1 (NaCl) with the aim to assess a trend of sequestering capacity of the amino‐polycarboxylic (APCs) ligand class towards this cation in aqueous solution. The results obtained gave evidence for the formation of a mononuclear [MeHg(APC)] complex species, differently protonated MeHg(HiL) species (i = 1 to 3, depending on the APC considered), a mixed hydroxo species [MeHg(APC)(OH)] and a binuclear …

Biotic methylation of mercury by intestinal and sulfate-reducing bacteria and their potential role in mercury accumulation in the tissue of the soil-…

2014

Abstract Monomethylmercury as one of the most toxic mercury species influences the health and development of higher organisms and tends to accumulate in the tissue of animals and humans. The aim of this study was to explore the mercury methylating capability of (1) intestinal microbiota of the soil-living earthworm Eisenia foetida (E. foetida) and (2) intestinal sulfate reducing-bacteria in pure cultures. After exposing animals to inorganic mercury chloride (4 mg kg−1 Hg2+) in soil and sterile soil for ten days, the amount of methylmercury in tissue was measured. Despite sterilization of soil, the accumulation of the organic mercury species in tissue was 51 ng g−1. To elucidate the potentia…

Pesticide residues in some Baltic animals - a review of selected literature

1975

ABSTRACT During the last few years, considerable efforts have been devoted to the tracing of halogenated hydrocarbons, particularly DDT and PCB, and of mercury in Baltic animals. These investigations have already produced some important generalizations, which may be summarized as follows: (1) The concentrations of halogenated hydrocarbons and mercury in the tissues of Baltic animals are in general higher than those found in the corresponding species on the west coast of Sweden and in the Norwegian waters. (2) The highest levels of DDT compounds seem to occur in the animals of the southern Baltic and the Sound (oresund). (3) The highest contents of methylmercury in the Baltic fish occur in c…

ASSESSING MERCURY POLLUTION USING BLACK STORK EGGSHELLS

2021

Female birds whose bodies contain environmental contaminants produce eggs with shells that are likewise contaminated, making bird eggshells appropriate indicators for monitoring environmental toxins. Common contaminants include organic mercury compounds, especially methylmercury, which are known to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in the food chain. Black storks (Ciconia nigra) predominantly consume fish and are thus at risk for high mercury intake. In this study, we used eggshells of black storks as a proxy to reconstruct the concentration levels and distribution of mercury, a well-known toxic element, in various parts of Latvia. Preliminary analyses have shown that deposition levels of mercur…

Evaluation of methylmercury cytotoxicity at intestinal level

2006

Validation of Methylmercury Determinations in Aquatic Systems by Alkyl Derivatization Methods for GC Analysis Using ICP-IDMS

2001

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS), using an inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (ICPMS) and a species-specific methylmercury spike was applied to validate the commonly used GC method for methylmercury (MeHg+) determination, which is based on the formation of volatile methylethylmercury by derivatization with NaBEt4. The spike compound, Me201Hg+, was synthesized by reaction of 201Hg-enriched mercury chloride with methylcobalamin. By analyzing different environmental aquatic samples, it was found that in most cases, transformation of MeHg+ into elemental mercury (Hg0) took place. From investigations of synthetic solutions, it could be followed that halide ions are …

Health effects of mercury ingested through consumption of seafood

1995

It is known world-wide literature that seafood consumption is the main source of mercury intake in people not occupationally exposed. Several studies on the presence of mercury in sea water, sediment and fish and its effects on human health have been carried out in many countries in the Mediterranean area such as Greece, Italy and Jugoslavia. Few data have been published on Sicilian coastal population, consumers of high amounts of fish and on seawater status as the starting point of alimentary chains involving marine food. This study was carried out in July 1991 and July 1992 to determine total mercury and methylmercury levels in selected populations of the coast of Sicily: fishermen in a l…

The Influence of Floodplains on Mercury Availability

2009

The floodplains of the German river Elbe affect the mercury distribution in the river system in two different ways: they act both as a medium-term sink and as a long-term source. The large amounts of mercury deposited onto the floodplains during annual floodings are first effectively fixed in the soils, rendering them basically unavailable. Sequential extraction experiments reveal that only a small fraction of the mercury (< 3%) is present in available forms, whereas the vast majority is associated with humic substances or present in sulfidic binding forms. After deposition, a small fraction of the total mercury is gradually remobilized into the aqueous phase bound passively to water-solubl…