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MICROBIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE REMEDIATION OF MERCURY CONTAMINATION
Citation:
Barkay, T, E. Saouter, AND R. R. Turner. MICROBIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE REMEDIATION OF MERCURY CONTAMINATION. Presented at Second SETAC World Congress (16th Annual Meeting), Vancouver, BC, CANADA, November 05 - 09, 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation
Description:
Methylmercury (MeHg) accumulation by aquatic biota could be reduced by stimulating bacterial degradation of MeHg and the reduction of Hg(II) to volatile Hg to zero power. Reduction of Hg(II) affects MeHg production by substrate limitation. The potential of bacterial reduction of Hg(II) to reduce MeHg production was investigated using a contaminated pond, Reality Lake, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as a model system. A Hg(II) resistant isolate, strain Aeromonas hydrophila KT20 originally isolated from RL, stimulated (p less than 0.05) the rate of Hg(II) removal from pond water as compared to an uninoculated control in shake flask experiments. Inoculation of a microcosm simulating the geochemical cycling of mercury in the pond, with strain KT20 (at 10 to the fifth power cells/ml), resulted in a 4- to 5-fold increase in the flux of Hg to zero power through the water-air boundary. However, the evolved Hg to zero power accounted for only 5% of total mercury in the microcosm, too little to significantly influence MeHg production. However, shake flask experiments suggested that in situ Hg(II) reduction could be further stimulated by increasing the number of active bacteria. Thus, enhancing bacterial reduction of Hg(II) is a serious possibility that warrants additional investigation.