The Chemistry and Transformations of Mercury and Arsenic in Anaerobic Sediments
Abstract
Mercury and Arsenic are important pollutants released from a variety of sources (ships, buoy batteries, etc.) into harbors and coastal waters. Both these elements can have important ecological effects and bioaccumulation of mercury in fish is a concern for human health. We thus need to understand the factors that control the fate of arsenic and mercury in harbors and coastal waters. This project focuses on the transformations of arsenic and mercury in the anoxic sediments that are characteristic of such environs. More specifically, the long term goals of this project are to elucidate the chemical and biological mechanisms that control the precipitation and dissolution of arsenic and mercury in anaerobic coastal sediments and to quantify the consequences of these processes in determining the potential release of these toxic elements to the water column and their accumulation in marine organisms. The specific objectives of this project are to 1) document the microbial reduction of the relatively immobile arsenate to the more mobile arsenite in anaerobic sediments; 2) study the conditions for arsenate reduction and precipitation of arsenite as the arsenic trisulfide solid; 3) study the dissolution of mercuric sulfide under various conditions; 4) quantify the rates of oxidation and reduction of dissolved mercury; and 5) elucidate the chemical conditions that enhance the rate of microbial uptake and methylation of mercury in anaerobic sediments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA536941
Entities
People
- Francois M. Morel
Organizations
- Princeton University