Historical record of mercury contamination in sediments from the Babeni Reservoir in the Olt River, Romania |
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Authors: | Bravo Andrea Garcia Loizeau Jean-Luc Ancey Lydie Ungureanu Viorel Gheorghe Dominik Janusz |
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Institution: | (1) Institut F.-A. Forel, University of Geneva, 10 Route de Suisse, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland;(2) Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania |
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Abstract: | Background, aim and scope Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous and hazardous contaminant in the aquatic environment showing a strong biomagnification effect
along the food chain. The most common transfer path of Hg to humans is contaminated fish consumption. In severely exposed
humans, Hg poisoning may lead to damage in the central nervous system. Thus, it is important to examine current and past contamination
levels of Hg in aquatic milieu. The Olt River is the largest Romanian tributary of the Danube River. The use of Hg as an electrode
in a chlor-alkali plant contributed to the contamination of the aquatic environment in the Rm Valcea region. The purpose of
this study was to compare the current state of Hg contamination with the past contamination using a historical record obtained
from a dated sediment core from one of the Olt River reservoirs (Babeni) located downstream from the chlor-alkali plant. To
our knowledge, no published data on Hg contamination in this region are available. The Babeni Reservoir was selected for this
study because it is situated downstream from the chlor-alkali plant, whilst the other reservoirs only retain the pollutants
coming from the upstream part of the watershed. Preliminary analyses (unpublished) showed high Hg concentrations in the surface
sediment of the Babeni Reservoir. One core was taken in the upstream Valcea Reservoir to provide a local background level
of Hg concentrations in sediments. |
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