Issue 4, 2000
From the journal:

Journal of Environmental Monitoring

R. C. Rodríguez Martín-Doimeadios,a   J. C. Wasserman,†b   L. F. García Bermejo,a   D. Amouroux,b   J. J. Berzas Nevadob  and  O. F. X. Donard*b  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Technology, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain

b Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Bio-Inorganique et Environnement – EP CNRS 132, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Hélioparc, Pau, France
E-mail: olivier.donard@univ-pau.fr
Fax: 33 05 59 80 12 92

Abstract

The chemical speciation, fractionation and availability of mercury in sediments from a cinnabar mining area (Almadén, Spain) was studied with different extraction and analytical procedures, in order to determine the degree to which the ecosystem is harmed by this pollutant. Three total extraction procedures, a sequential extraction and the speciation of organo-mercury compounds were performed in nine sediment samples. In the study area, although concentrations of mercury can be extremely high (up to 1000 mg kg−1), no organo-mercury compounds were detected (<2 µg kg−1) and the availability of this element seems restricted. One of the methods for total extraction presented considerably lower recovery in Almadén's sediments, yet the results were controlled with certified reference materials. This disagreement was attributed to the fact that the mercury is in a refractory form. Sequential extraction was able to show that most of the mercury is associated with sulfides (probably as metacinnabar) or in the residual refractory phase (probably as red cinnabar).

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/A909597G
Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Dec 1999
Accepted
17 Apr 2000
First published
08 Jun 2000

J. Environ. Monit., 2000,2, 360-366

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Chemical availability of mercury in stream sediments from the Almadén area, Spain

R. C. Rodríguez Martín-Doimeadios, J. C. Wasserman, L. F. García Bermejo, D. Amouroux, J. J. Berzas Nevado and O. F. X. Donard, J. Environ. Monit., 2000, 2, 360 DOI: 10.1039/A909597G

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