Speciation and bioavailability of mercury in sediments impacted by gold mining in Colombia José Pinedo-Hernández a, José Marrugo-Negrete a,⇑, Sergi Díez b,⇑ a University of Córdoba, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Water, Applied and Environmental Chemistry Group, Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Management, Montería, Colombia b Environmental Chemistry Department, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDÆA-CSIC, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
h i g h l i g h t s The impact of gold mining was studied in sediments in the Mojana region, Colombia. MeHg correlated significantly with T-Hg and organic matter, being a 2.6% of T-Hg. Mercury exists mostly as the fraction associated with organic Hg (Hg-o, 48.4%). Exchangeable phases (Hg-w, Hg-h) show significant correlations with MeHg content. Although their low percentage (
Speciation and bioavailability of mercury in sediments impacted by gold mining in Colombia.
Mercury (Hg) speciation and bioavailability were studied in surface sediments affected by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in the Mojana r...