Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, USA.
Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS), Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
Chemosphere. 2022 Aug;300:134609. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134609. Epub 2022 Apr 14.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), energy production and other industrial inputs are a major source of anthropogenic mercury (Hg) to the aquatic environment globally, and these inputs have led to environmental contamination and human exposure. While studies have documented the effects of Hg inputs to rivers and marine waters of the West African region, estuarine waters of Cote d'Ivoire have been understudied, besides the waters surrounding Abidjan. To fill this gap, and to examine the potential for human exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), we measured the concentrations of total Hg, MeHg, and ancillary parameters in water (dissolved and particulate phases), sediment and fish to determine the extent of environmental impact and the potential for MeHg exposure for people consuming these fish. Levels of Hg and MeHg in sediment were elevated in the vicinity of the urban environment (up to 0.3 ng/g dry weight (dw) MeHg and 623 ng/g dw total Hg) and lowest in the more remote estuarine environments. Measurements of Hg in tuna and other larger pelagic coastal species indicated that levels were elevated but comparable to other North Atlantic regions. However, levels of Hg in fish, even smaller estuarine species, were such that the rural and urban populations are potentially being exposed to unsafe levels of MeHg, primarily as a result of the relatively high fish consumption in Cote d'Ivoire compared to other countries. Overall, both local point sources and the transport of Hg used in interior ASGM activities are the sources for Hg contamination to these coastal waters.
手工和小规模采金（ASGM）、能源生产和其他工业投入是人为汞（Hg）向全球水生环境输入的主要来源，这些投入导致了环境污染和人类暴露。虽然研究已经记录了 Hg 输入对西非地区河流和海洋水的影响，但除了阿比让周围的水域外，科特迪瓦的河口水域研究较少。为了填补这一空白，并研究人类接触甲基汞（MeHg）的潜力，我们测量了水中（溶解和颗粒相）、沉积物和鱼类中的总 Hg、MeHg 和辅助参数的浓度，以确定环境影响的程度和食用这些鱼类的人接触 MeHg 的潜力。在城市环境附近，Hg 和 MeHg 在沉积物中的含量较高（MeHg 最高可达 0.3 纳克/克干重（dw），总 Hg 最高可达 623 纳克/克 dw），而在更偏远的河口环境中含量最低。金枪鱼和其他较大的沿海水域物种中 Hg 的测量表明，其含量虽然升高，但与北大西洋其他地区相当。然而，即使是较小的河口物种，鱼类中的 Hg 含量也表明，农村和城市人口可能正在接触不安全水平的 MeHg，这主要是由于科特迪瓦的鱼类消费相对较高，而不是其他国家。总体而言，内陆 ASGM 活动中使用的汞的本地点源和运输都是这些沿海水域汞污染的来源。
