Mercury (Hg) Contents Analysis in Sediments at Some River Estuaries in Kayeli Bay Buru Island

9th Annual Basic Science International Conference 2019

自然科学（总论）

Mariwy, Abraham^1 ; Male, Yusthinus T.^2 ; Manuhutu, Julita B.^1

Chemistry Education Study Program, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Pattimura University, Indonesia^1

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Pattimura University, Indonesia^2

关键词: Amalgamation;    Fishery resources;    Food chain;    Gold processing;    Mercuries (Hg);    Mercury analyzers;    Mercury levels;    Toxic heavy metals;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/546/2/022012/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/546/2/022012

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Since 2011, a considerable gold deposit was found at several locations on Buru islands, such as Botak Mountain, Gogorea, and Nona Mountain. These attracted thousands of illegal miners who used amalgamation techniques in traditional gold processing. In practicing, the mercury-containing tailings were then stored in a container or directly discharged into the river, potentially polluting the waters of Kayeli Bay as well as all fishery resources in it. This was of course worrisome because mercury (Hg) was a very toxic heavy metal and could poison humans through the food chain. This study was conducted to analyze mercury levels in sediments some river estuaries in the bay Kayeli. The mercury contented the sample was performed using a mercury analyzer. The results showed that mercury in Suket river was 1.62 mg/kg, Wailata river was 8.27 mg/kg, Anahoni river 4.99 mg/kg while Waiapu river was 0.53 mg/kg. These results indicated that sediment at the mouth of several rivers in the Kayeli Bay has been contaminated with mercury, even far beyond the standard set by the US EPA of 0.2 mg/kg.