Abstract
Wide occurrence of mercury species, including the highly toxic and readily bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg), in municipal sewage (MS) and sewage sludge (SS) has been evidenced in recent studies. Considering that vast amounts of MS and SS are produced globally each year and the majority of MS is discharged into aqueous environments, i.e., the main sites for MeHg bioaccumulation, special attention should be paid on the source and environmental behaviors of sewage-borne and sludge-borne mercury species. This review aims to summarize the findings on the occurrence of mercury species in MS and SS, their transport and transformation in MS treatment plants, as well as their fate and environmental implications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balogh S, Liang L (1995) Mercury pathways in municipal wastewater treatment plants. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:1181–1190
Balogh SJ, Nollet YH (2008a) Mercury mass balance at a wastewater treatment plant employing sludge incineration with offgas mercury control. Sci Total Environ 389:125–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.08.021
Balogh SJ, Nollet YH (2008b) Methylmercury input to the Mississippi River from a large metropolitan wastewater treatment plant. Sci Total Environ 406:145–153
Balogh SJ, Engstrom DR, Almendinger JE, Meyer ML, Johnson DK (1999) History of mercury loading in the upper Mississippi River reconstructed from the sediments of Lake Pepin. Environ Sci Technol 33:3297–3302
Bjorkman L, Sandborgh-Englund G, Ekstrand J (1997) Mercury in saliva and feces after removal of amalgam fillings. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 144:156–162. https://doi.org/10.1006/taap.1997.8128
Bodaly RA, Rudd JWM, FLETT RJ (1998) Effect of urban sewage treatment on total and methylmercury concentrations in effluents. Biogeochem 40:279–291
Carpi A, Lindberg SE (1997) Sunlight-mediated emission of elemental mercury from soil amended with municipal sewage sludge. Environ Sci Technol 31:2085–2091. https://doi.org/10.1021/es960910&%23x002B;
Carpi A, Lindberg SE, Prestbo EM, Bloom NS (1997) Methyl mercury contamination and emission to the atmosphere from soil amended with municipal sewage sludge. J Environ Qual 26:1650–1655
CEPA (2010) A review of methylmercury and inorganic mercury discharges from NPDES facilities in California’s central valley. CEPA, Rancho Cordova
Cheng L (2018) Study on speciation and ecological risk of mercury in municipal sewage sludge in China. Henan Polytechnic University (in Chinese)
Cheng H, Hu Y (2012) Mercury in municipal solid waste in china and its control: a review. Environ Sci Technol 46:593–605. https://doi.org/10.1021/es2026517
EDCEY (2002–2016) China environment year book. Editorial Department of China Environmental Yearbook, Beijing (in Chinese)
Feng X, Tang S, Li Z, Wang S, Liang L (2004) Landfill is an important atmospheric mercury emission source. Chin Sci Bull 49:2475–2479 (in Chinese)
Fijalkowski K, Rorat A, Grobelak A, Kacprzak MJ (2017) The presence of contaminations in sewage sludge—the current situation. J Environ Manage 203:1126–1136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.068
Gbondo-Tugbawa SS, McAlear JA, Driscoll CT, Sharpe CW (2010) Total and methyl mercury transformations and mass loadings within a wastewater treatment plant and the impact of the effluent discharge to an alkaline hypereutrophic lake. Water Res 44:2863–2875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2010.01.028
Gianico A, Braguglia CM, Mascolo G, Mininni G (2013) Partitioning of nutrients and micropollutants along the sludge treatment line: a case study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20:6256–6265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1686-x
Gilmour CC, Bloom NS (1995) A case study of mercury and methylmercury dynamics in a Hg-contaminated municipal wastewater treatment plant. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:799–803
Goldstone ME, Atkinson C, Kirk PWW, Lester JN (1990) The behaviour of heavy metals during wastewater treatment III. Mercury and arsenic. Sci Total Environ 95:271–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/0048-9697(90)90070-B
Hagreen LA, Lourie BA (2004) Canadian mercury inventories: the missing pieces. Environ Res 95:272–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enves.2004.01.003
Helena Lopes M, Abelha P, Lapa N, Oliveira JS, Cabrita I, Gulyurtlu I (2003) The behaviour of ashes and heavy metals during the co-combustion of sewage sludges in a fluidised bed. Waste Manage (New York NY) 23:859–870. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0956-053x(03)00025-4
Hope BK, Pillsbury L, Boling B (2012) A state-wide survey in Oregon (USA) of trace metals and organic chemicals in municipal effluent. Sci Total Environ 417–418:263–272
Hosogai Y, Naoie H, Okada T (1978) The manual for toxic element. Chuohoki Publishers Co. Ltd, Tokyo (in Jananese)
Kelessidis A, Stasinakis AS (2012) Comparative study of the methods used for treatment and final disposal of sewage sludge in European countries. Waste Manage 32:1186–1195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.01.012
Kistler RC, Widmer F, Brunner PH (1987) Behavior of chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, mercury, and lead during the pyrolysis of sewage sludge. Environ Sci Technol 21:704–708. https://doi.org/10.1021/es00161a012
Kocman D et al (2017) Toward an assessment of the global inventory of present-day mercury releases to freshwater environments. Int J Env Res Public Health 14:138
Lee SS, Wilcox J (2017) Behavior of mercury emitted from the combustion of coal and dried sewage sludge: the effect of unburned carbon, Cl, Cu and Fe. Fuel 203:749–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.04.104
Li H, Mao Y, Li Y, Ma Y, Wang X, Song D (2014) Occurrence and mass balance of mercury at a municipal sewage treatment plant. Part I: total mercury. Environ Chem 33:1059–1065 (in Chinese)
Lindberg SE, Wallschläger D, Prestbo EM, Bloom NS, Price J, Reinhart D (2001) Methylated mercury species in municipal waste landfill gas sampled in Florida, USA. Atmos Environ 35:4011–4015. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00176-5
Lindberg SE, Southworth G, Prestbo EM, Wallschläger D, Bogle MA, Price J (2005) Gaseous methyl- and inorganic mercury in landfill gas from landfills in Florida, Minnesota, Delaware, and California. Atmos Environ 39:249–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.09.060
Liu M et al (2016) Mercury release to aquatic environments from anthropogenic sources in China from 2001 to 2012. Environ Sci Technol 50:8169–8177. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b01386
Liu H, Cui Y, Li H, Mao Y (2018a) A case study on the occurrence, transport, and fate of mercury species in a sewage treatment plant in Jiaozuo, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:21616–21622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2312-8
Liu M et al (2018b) Increases of total mercury and methylmercury releases from municipal sewage into environment in China and implications. Environ Sci Technol 52:124–134. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05217
Liu MD et al (2018c) Traditional Tibetan medicine induced high methylmercury exposure level and environmental mercury burden in Tibet, China. Environ Sci Technol 52:8838–8847. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01754
LWA (2002) Mercury source control and pollution prevention evaluation, Final Report, March 2002 (Amended July 2002). Prepared for: Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies. http://archive.nacwa.org/advocacy/mercgrant/
Mao Y, Li Y, Richards J, Cai Y (2013) Investigating uptake and translocation of mercury species by Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) using a stable isotope tracer technique. Environ Sci Technol 47:9678–9684. https://doi.org/10.1021/es400546s
Mao Y, Cheng L, Ma B, Cai Y (2016) The fate of mercury in municipal wastewater treatment plants in China: significance and implications for environmental cycling. J Hazard Mater 306:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.11.058
Meng B, Feng X, Qiu G, Liang P, Li P, Chen C, Shang L (2011) The process of methylmercury accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Environ Sci Technol 45:2711–2717
NRC (2002) Biosolids applied to land: advancing standards and practices. National Academy Press, Washington, DC
Olofsson U, Bignert A, Haglund P (2012) Time-trends of metals and organic contaminants in sewage sludge. Water Res 46:4841–4851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2012.05.048
Parmer A, Maidrand M, Fry V, Abusaba K, Whalin L (2005) Methylmercury fate and transport study. Proc Water Environ Fed 81–90:7057–7083
Pillay AE, Yaghi B, Williams JR, Al-Kindy S (2007) Mercury pollution from irrigation with treated sewage water (TSW). J Water Health 5:315–322. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2007.027
Pudasainee D, Seo YC, Kim JH, Jang HN (2013) Fate and behavior of selected heavy metals with mercury mass distribution in a fluidized bed sewage sludge incinerator. J Mater Cycles Waste Manage 15:202–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-013-0115-z
Sato T, Qadir M, Yamamoto S, Endo T, Zahoor A (2013) Global, regional, and country level need for data on wastewater generation, treatment, and use. Agric Water Manage 130:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2013.08.007
Shao C (2017) Removal mechanism of inorganic mercury and methylmercury from sewag eby activated sludge. Henan Polytechnic University (in Chinese)
Shoham-Frider E, Shelef G, Kress N (2007) Mercury speciation in sediments at a municipal sewage sludge marine disposal site. Mar Environ Res 64:601–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2007.06.003
SJ/SC (2007) San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant mercury fate and transport study. Environmental Services Department, SJ/SC Water Pollution Control Plant, San Jose
Stone ME, Cohen ME, Liang L, Pang P (2003) Determination of methyl mercury in dental-unit wastewater. Dent Mater 19:675–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0109-5641(03)00012-5
Takaoka M, Domoto S, Oshita K, Takeda N, Morisawa S (2012) Mercury emission from sewage sludge incineration in Japan. J Mater Cycles Waste Manage 14:113–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-012-0044-2
Tao Z, Dai S, Chai X (2017) Mercury emission to the atmosphere from municipal solid waste landfills: a brief review. Atmos Environ 170:303–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.09.046
USEPA (1999) Biosolid generation, use, and disposal in the United States. EPA530-R-99-009
USEPA (2006) EPA’s roadmap for mercury. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0013. http://www.epa.gov/mercury/roadmap/htm
Werther J, Saenger M (2000) Emissions from sewage lsudge combustion in Germany: status and future trends. J Chem Eng Jpn 33:1–11 (in Japanese)
Zhao X, Rockne KJ, Drummond JL, Hurley RK, Shade CW, Hudson RJM (2008) Characterization of methyl mercury in dental wastewater and correlation with sulfate-reducing bacterial DNA. Environ Sci Technol 42:2780–2786
Zheng SA, Wu ZY, Chen C, Liang JF, Huang HK, Zheng XQ (2018) Evaluation of leafy vegetables as bioindicators of gaseous mercury pollution in sewage-irrigated areas. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:413–421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0438-8
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21377035) and the Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (Grant No. 15HASTIT045).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, X., Mao, Y. Mercury in Municipal Sewage and Sewage Sludge. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 102, 643–649 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-02536-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-02536-3