As a global pollutant, high levels of mercury(Hg) have been found in remote ecosystem due to the long range atmospheric transport. In this study, a total of 60 fish samples were collected from four rivers across the Tibetan Plateau to study the accumulation of Hg in remote and high-altitude aquatic environment. The total Hg(THg) and methylmercury(MeHg) in fish muscles ranged from 11 to 2097 ng/g dry weight(dw)(average: 819 ng/g dw)and from 14 to 1960 ng/g dw(average: 756 ng/g dw), respectively. Significantly positive linear relationships were observed between the THg(r = 0.591, p < 0.01, n = 36) and MeHg concentrations(r = 0.473, p < 0.01, n = 36) with the trophic level of fish from Lhasa River,suggesting trophic transfer and biomagnification of Hg in this aquatic ecosystem. Moreover,the THg levels in fish had significantly positive correlations with the length(r = 0.316,p < 0.05, n = 60) and weight(r = 0.271, p < 0.05, n = 60) of fish. The high levels of Hg were attributed to the slow growth and long lifespan of the fish under this sterile and cold environment. Risk assessment revealed that the consumption of Oxygymnocypris stewartii,Schizothorax macropogon, Schizothorax waltoni, Schizopygopsis younghusbandi and Schizothorax o'connori would lead to a high exposure to Me Hg.
Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in China and a large number of people are threatened by heavy metal pollution.Extensive damage to human organs,such as liver,kidney,digestion system,and nervous system can be caused by uptake of excess heavy metals.Heavy metals in the environment can originate from both natural and anthropogenic sources.Although contamination of heavy metals has been known to be a severe environmental problem for decades,it is still getting worse in recent years and there are few feasible approaches to resolve this problem.Due to their high toxicity,prevalent existence and persistence in the environment,lead(Pb),mercury(Hg),cadmium(Cd),chromium(Cr) and arsenic(As) are commonly considered as the priority heavy metals which should be concerned and their emission should be controlled in China.This paper reviewed the pollution of heavy metals in China,focusing on the following four aspects:current status of heavy metal pollution in China,sources of heavy metals in China,toxicity and potential risk,and possible reduction strategies.
Mercury(Hg),arsenic(As) and selenium(Se) are ubiquitous in the environment and exist in a variety of species,which have great influence on their transport,bioaccumulation and toxicity.This review presents the recent research progress in speciation analysis of Hg,As,and Se,with emphasis on enhanced cold vapor generation as interface for liquid chromatography and atomic spectrometry,speciation of volatile species in gas phase,and isotope dilution technique to improve the precision and accuracy of speciation.Hyphenated techniques to characterize the complexes of Hg and As with phytochelatins and chromatographic separation coupled with multi-collector-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to measure species-specific isotopic ratios,are also briefly discussed.
Mercury(Hg) and its compounds are a class of highly toxic and pervasive pollutants.During the biogeochemical cycling of Hg,methylmercury(MeHg),a potent neurotoxin,can be produced and subsequently bioaccumulated along the food chain in aquatic ecosystems.MeHg is among the most widespread contaminants that pose severe health risks to humans and wildlife.Methylation of inorganic mercury to MeHg and demethylation of MeHg are the two most important processes in the cycling of MeHg,determining the levels of MeHg in aquatic ecosystems.This paper reviews recent progress on the study of Hg methylation and demethylation in aquatic environments,focusing on the following three areas:(1) sites and pathways of Hg methylation and demethylation,(2) bioavailability of Hg species for methylation and demethylation,and(3) application of isotope addition techniques in quantitatively estimating the net production of MeHg.
