You are here:
Review of Recent Advances in Mercury Research: Assessment and remediation of mercury contaminated sites.
Citation:
Eckley, Chris S., C. C. GILMOUR, S. Janssen, Todd P. Luxton, Paul M. Randall, AND L. Whalin. Review of Recent Advances in Mercury Research: Assessment and remediation of mercury contaminated sites. International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, KrakowP, September 16 - 20, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
The presentation presents a review of the practices and techniques for conducting an assessment and planning the remediation of a mercury contaminated site. Specific attention is paid to the methods used for site assessment including source attribution, chemical speciation, and bioaccessibility. A review of the most common and newest remediation practices are covered.
Description:
Areas where mercury (Hg) has been utilized as part of anthropogenic activities (either industrial or artisanal) can contain Hg concentrations that are elevated above what would be expected from atmospheric and natural geologic sources. There are many different anthropogenic activities that have created Hg contaminated sites, with some of the major sources being: Hg mining, manufacturing, gold and silver mining, and caustic soda production. While much of the global concern regarding Hg pollution is related to its widespread dissemination through atmospheric deposition and subsequent biogeochemical cycles resulting in elevated concentrations in biota, there are unique opportunities to assess and remediate spatially discrete, but highly contaminated, areas of Hg pollution. Contaminated site assessment activities include the determination of the geographic extent of the contamination, understanding the source of Hg contamination, identifying major pathways of release, and estimating the bioavailable and mobile forms of Hg at a site. Assessment practices for Hg contaminated site assessment have evolved in recent years due to improvements in XRF analysis, stable isotope fractionation studies, flux measurements, and estimates of Hg speciation (sequential extractions, EXAFS, etc). In addition, approaches and techniques for the remediation of Hg contaminated sites have seen advancements in recent years due to increased use and availability of soil and sediment amendments such as biochar and activated carbon. Other advances in remediation techniques include site removals, capping, pump-and-treat, and others. This presentation provides a summary and synthesis of the current understanding of the important topics related to the assessment and remediation of Hg contaminated sites. This effort is one part of a forthcoming special issue of Science of the Total Environment providing a review of advances in Hg research and understanding the Hg biogeochemical cycle.