Skip to main content
Download PDF

Atmospheric mercury concentrations in the basin of the amazon, Brazil

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine volume 2, Article number: 183 (1998) Cite this article

Abstract

A wide regional mercury pollution in Amazon, Brazil is closely associated with goldmining that has been carried out in the basin of tributaries of the Amazon since the eighteenth century. Possible involvement has been discussed on atmospheric circulation in distributing the volatile pollutant. We developed a portable air sampler for the collection of mercury compounds and determined atmospheric mercury concentrations at several sites in Brazil including the basin of the Amazon tributaries. The mean concentration of total mercury was between 9.1 and 14.0 ng/m3 in the basin of the Uatumã River located in the tropical rain forest far from goldmining sites and from urbanized area. These mercury levels exceeded the background level previously reported in rural area and, furthermore, were higher than concentrations observed in Rio de Janeiro and in Manaus that were compatible with the reference values for urban area. Mercury concentrations were also determined in gold refineries in the basin of the Tapajos River, and detected at a significant but not a health deteriorating level. Although only preliminary data were available, the present observations were in favor of the hypothesis that mercury is distributed widely by long distant transport by the atmospheric circulation after released at gold mining sites.

References

  1. Nriagu JO, Pfeiffer WC, Malm O Mierle G. Mercury pollution in Brazil. Nature 1992;356: 389.

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Akagi H. Mercury as a global pollutant: mercury pollution in Amazon river basin, Brazil. Biomed Res Trace Elements 1995;6: 1- 11 (text in Japanese).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Akagi H. Mercury pollutant in Amazon, Brazil. Jpn J Toxicol Environ Health 1995;41: 107–15 (text in Japanese).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Akagi H, Malm O, Kinjo Y, Harada M, Branches FJP, Pfeiffer WC, Kato H. Methylmercury pollution in the Amazon, Brazil. Sci Total Environ 1995;175: 85–95.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Akagi H, Malm O, Branches FJP, Kinjo Y, Kashima Y, Guimaraes JRD, Oliveila RB, Haraguchi K, Pfeiffer WC, Takizawa Y, Kato H. Human exposure to mercury due to goldmining in the Tapajos river basin, Amazon, Brazil: speciation of mercury in human hair, blood and urine. Water Air Soil Pollution 1995;80: 85–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Pfeiffer WC and Lacerda LD. Mercury inputs into the Amazon region, Brazil. Environ Technol Lett 1988;9: 325–30.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Anderen AW, Nriagu JO. The global cycle of mercury. In: Nriagu JO, ed. The geochemistry of mercury in the environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1979: 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Takizawa Y, Minagawa K, Fujii M. A practical and simple methods in fractional determination of ambient forms of mercury in air. Chemosphere 1981;10: 801–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Oikawa K, Kawabe Y, Takizawa Y, Kamada M, Nakagawa R, Ohyagi Y. Studies on mercury behaviour in man’s environment (report distribution of atmospheric mercury in Japan. Jpn J Public Health 1975;23: 659–63.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Fujii M. Mercury in the atmosphere. Jpn J Public Health 1976;23: 501–8.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Environmental Agency of Japan. Yugaibussitsu Zenkoku Soutenken Chousakekka Houkokusho (Technical Report written in Japanese). 1984.

  12. Matsumoto M. Behavior of atmospheric mercury concentration at Mt. Ohdaigahara, a clean area. J Jpn Soc Air Pollut 1986;21: 253- 8.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Matsumoto M. Studies of behavior of atmospheric mercury concentration at general and mercury deposits areas. J Jpn Soc Ari Pollut 1983;18: 66–76.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Thrane EK. Background levels in air of lead, cadmium, mercury and some chlorinated hydrocarbons measured in south Norway. Atmos Environ 1977;12: 1155–61.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Schroeder WH. Sampling and analysis of mercury and its compounds in the atmosphere. Environ Sci Technol 1982;16: 394A- 400A.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Fukuzaki N. Mercury in atmospheric Environment. J Jpn Soc Air Pollut 1986;21: 1–21.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Kobayashi T, Torihashi Y. Behavior and distribution of mercury in the atmospheric environment. Hyogo-kenritsu Kogai Kenkyusho Kenkyu Houkoku 1987;19: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Ohba K, Kitase M, Sakai T, Ito E. Atmospheric mercury concentration at Nagoya area. Nagoya-shi Kogai Kenkyusho Nenpo 1987;17: 17–20.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Dumarey R, Dams R. The influence of meteorological parameters on atmospheric volatile and particulate mercury distribution. Environ Pollut (Ser B) 1985;10: 277–85.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Wroblewski SC, Spittler TM, Harrison PR. Mercury concentration in the atmosphere in Chicago: A new ultrasensitive method employing amalgamation. J Air Pollut Control Assoc 1974;24: 778–81.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Weiss HV, Koide M, Goldberg ED. Mercury in a Greenland ice sheet: Evidence of recent input by man. Science 1971;174: 692–4.

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Appequist H, Jensen KO, Sevel T. Mercury in the Greenland ice sheet. Nature 1978;273: 657–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Breder R, Flucht R. Mercury levels in the atmosphere of various regions and locations in Italy. Sci Total Environ 1984;40: 231–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. World Health Organization. Environmental Health Criteria 1, Mercury. World Health Organization, 1976.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Akita University School of Medicine, 1-1, Hondo 1-chome, 010-8543, Akita, Japan

    Noriyuki Hachiya, Shun’ichi Hisamatsu, Touru Abe, Yuko Abe & Yutaka Motohashi

  2. National Institute for Minamata Disease, Minamata

    Yukio Takizawa

Authors
  1. Noriyuki Hachiya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yukio Takizawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shun’ichi Hisamatsu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Touru Abe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yuko Abe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yutaka Motohashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noriyuki Hachiya.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hachiya, N., Takizawa, Y., Hisamatsu, S. et al. Atmospheric mercury concentrations in the basin of the amazon, Brazil. Environ Health Prev Med 2, 183 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931699

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931699

Key words

  • Mercury
  • Air contamination
  • Amazon
  • A portable air sampler
  • Global environment

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine

ISSN: 1347-4715

Contact us