Mercury uptake and effects on growth in Jatropha curcas

The use of metal-accumulating plants for the phytoremediation of contaminated soils is gaining more attention. Mercury(Hg)-contaminated soils from historical gold mines represent a potential risk to human health and the environment. Therefore, Jatropha curcas plant, that has shown its tolerance to these environments, is a species of particular interest to implement phytoremediation techniques in gold mining sites. In this work, the behavior of J. curcas was assessed in different hydroponic cultures fortified with Hg at concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 μg Hg/mL(T5, T10, T20, T40 and T80, respectively). After exposure,plant growth, net photosynthesis, leaf area, and Hg accumulation were determined and variables such as net Hg uptake, effective Hg accumulation, translocation and bioaccumulation factors were calculated. Accumulation of Hg in root and leaf tissues increased with respect to the Hg concentrations in the hydroponic culture, with statistically significant differences(p 0.05) among treatments. Moreover, Hg concentration in roots was 7 and 12-fold higher in average than in plant leaves and shoots, respectively. Many effects were found in the development of plants, especially related with loss of biomass and leaf area,with significant growth inhibition related to control values( 50% with treatment T5).Moreover, percentage of inhibition was even higher( 60%) with same treatment for net photosynthesis. Finally, it should be highlighted that for T40 and T80 treatments, plant growth and photosynthesis were almost completely depleted(88%–95%).     

Human health impacts of exposure to metals through extreme consumption of fish from the Colombian Caribbean Sea

The health risks of metal exposure due to the high consumption of fish were assessed for a riverine population living on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The concentrations of metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the edible tissues of fish were determined and used for risk assessment. The daily fish consumption of residents (n = 95) was as high as 283, 366 and 469 g/day in children (CH), women of childbearing age (WCHA) and the remaining population groups (RP), respectively. The estimation of the potential risk (HQ) indicated that there was no health risk from most of the metals, because they did not exceed their related reference doses, with values of HQ < 1. Although the concentrations of Pb and Hg were not particularly high in fish (<0.2 µg/g), their possible health effects for vulnerable groups are of great concern due to the extremely high fish intake. The Pb intake for all groups was higher than the lower confidence limit of the benchmark dose for nephrotoxicity and neurodevelopmental effects in children. The weekly intake of methylmercury was also elevated, with values approximately 3, 2 and 1.5 times the provisional tolerable weekly intake for CH, WCHA and RP, respectively. Moreover, higher Hg levels were found in top predators, whereas maximum levels for other metals were found in bottom-feeding fish. This study highlights that an accurate data of daily intake, a continuous monitoring of metals in fish and their related fish consumption advisories to protect subsistence fishing communities are recommended in a local and worldwide context.     

Assessment of trace element pollution and ecological risks in a river basin impacted by mining in Colombia

Trace element pollution in rivers by anthropogenic activities is an increasing problem worldwide. In this study, the contamination and ecological risk by several trace elements were evaluated along a 100-km stretch of the San Jorge River in Colombia, impacted by different mining activities. The increase of average concentration levels and range of trace elements in sediments (in μg/g) was as follows: Cu 6656 (454–69,702) > Cd 1159 (0.061–16,227) > Zn 1064 (102–13,483) > Ni 105 (31–686) > Pb 7.2 (5.1–11.7) > As 1.8 (1.0–3.2) > Hg 0.31 (0.12–1.37). Results showed that surface sediments could be classified as very high ecological risk index (RI > 600), associated with high contamination of Hg, Cd, and Cu, in stations close mining activities. Values for pollution load index indicate an environmental deterioration (PLI > 1), and sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) suggested that Cu, Ni, Zn, and Hg caused adverse biological effects. We further used pollution indices such as contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), and geoaccumulation index (Igeo) to assess the extent of contamination. According to these indices, discharges of hazardous chemicals over many years have resulted in a high degree of pollution for Cu, Pb, and Cd, with critical values in stations receiving wastes from mining activities. Multivariate statistical analysis suggested that Hg, Cd, Cu, and Zn derived from gold and coal mining, Ni and As were related from the mining of ferronickel and coal, respectively, whereas the high Pb load was attributed to diffuse source of pollution. In sum, our study provided the first detailed database on metal concentration and ecological risks to organisms in sediments of the San Jorge River Basin, and the current results also suggested future research for public health action.

     

Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in fish from the Mojana region of Colombia

Total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations have been measured in the muscle tissue of 16 fish species consumed in the Mojana region of Colombia. T-Hg analysis was performed by cold-vapor atomic-absorption spectroscopy (CV-ASS) and MeHg analysis by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. Higher T-Hg and MeHg concentrations were detected in carnivorous species (T-Hg = 0.371 ± 0.172 (μg g⁻¹ fresh wt, MeHg = 0.346 ± 0.171 μg g⁻¹ fresh wt) than in non-carnivorous fish (T-Hg = 0.155 ± 0.108 μg g⁻¹ fresh wt, MeHg = 0.146 ± 0.102 μg g⁻¹ fresh wt). In the different species mercury was present almost completely as the methylated form, with percentages between 80.5 and 98.1% (mean 92.0 ± 3.4%). In 13.5% of fish-tissue samples T-Hg concentrations exceeded the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization for human consumption (Hg = 0.5 μg g⁻¹ fresh wt). Although mean T-Hg concentrations in all fish samples (0.269 ± 0.181 μg g⁻¹ fresh wt) did not exceed this limit, risk assessment suggested that the consumption of 0.12 kg fish day⁻¹ could increase the risk of mercury poisoning of the inhabitants of this region.