Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway; Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Jun 1;667:622-637. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.352. Epub 2019 Feb 23.
Hardangerfjord is one of the longest fjords in the world and has historical mercury (Hg) contamination from a zinc plant in its inner sector. In order to investigate the extent of Hg transferred to abiotic and biotic ecosystem compartments, Hg and monomethylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were measured in seawater, sediment, and seafood commonly consumed by humans. Although total mercury in seawater has been described previously, this investigation reports novel MeHg data for seawater from Norwegian fjords. Total Hg and MeHg concentrations in seawater, sediment, and biota increased towards the point source of pollution (PSP) and multiple lines of evidence show a clear PSP effect in seawater and sediment concentrations. In fish, however, similar high concentrations were found in the inner part of another branch adjacent to the PSP. We postulate that, in addition to PSP, atmospheric Hg, terrestrial run-off and hydroelectric power stations are also important sources of Hg in this fjord ecosystem. Hg contamination gradually increased towards the inner part of the fjord for most fish species and crustaceans. Since the PSP and the atmospheric Hg pools were greater towards the inner part of the fjord, it is not entirely possible to discriminate the full extent of the PSP and the atmospheric Hg contribution to the fjord food web. The European Union (EU) Hg maximum level for consumption was exceeded in demersal fish species including tusk (Brosme brosme), blue ling (Molva dypterygia) and common ling (Molva molva) from the inner fjord (1.08 to 1.89 mg kg ww) and from the outer fjord (0.49 to 1.07 mg kg ww). Crustaceans were less contaminated and only European lobster (Homarus gammarus) from inner fjord exceeded the EU limit (0.62 mg kg ww). Selenium (Se) concentrations were also measured in seafood species and Se-Hg co-exposure dynamics are also discussed.
哈德格兰峡湾是世界上最长的峡湾之一，其内部区域曾有一家锌厂，导致该地区历史上汞（Hg）污染。为了调查 Hg 向非生物和生物生态系统转移的程度，测量了海水、沉积物和人类常吃的海鲜中的总汞和甲基汞（MeHg）浓度。虽然以前已经描述过海水中的总汞，但本研究报告了挪威峡湾海水中的新型 MeHg 数据。海水、沉积物和生物体内的总汞和 MeHg 浓度朝着污染源（PSP）增加，并且多种证据表明，海水和沉积物浓度中存在明显的 PSP 效应。然而，在鱼体内，在与 PSP 相邻的另一个分支的内部也发现了类似的高浓度。我们假设，除了 PSP 之外，大气汞、陆地径流和水电站也是该峡湾生态系统中 Hg 的重要来源。Hg 污染在大多数鱼类和甲壳类动物中逐渐向峡湾内部增加。由于 PSP 和大气 Hg 库更靠近峡湾内部，因此不可能完全区分 PSP 和大气 Hg 对峡湾食物网的全部贡献。消费的欧盟（EU）Hg 最大限量在包括内峡湾（1.08 至 1.89mgkgww）和外峡湾（0.49 至 1.07mgkgww）的底栖鱼类物种中的牙鳕（Brosme brosme）、蓝鳕鱼（Molva dypterygia）和普通鳕鱼（Molva molva）中被超过，甲壳类动物污染程度较低，只有内峡湾的欧洲龙虾（Homarus gammarus）超过了欧盟限量（0.62mgkgww）。还测量了海鲜物种中的硒（Se）浓度，并讨论了 Se-Hg 共暴露动态。
