Mercury pollution in land reclamation fills from the colonial period of the Brazil's southernmost

Quimica nova

Mirlean, Nicolai¹  Fragomeni, Luiz Paulo de Moura²  Roisenberg, Ari² 

[1]Fundação Universidade de Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brasil

[2]Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil

关键词: mercury;    metal soil pollution;    urban pollution.;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0100-40422010000800002

学科分类：化学（综合）

来源: Sociedade Brasileira de Quimica

【 摘 要 】

Land reclamationfills in the city of Rio Grande (RS) are polluted by mercury with concentrationsranging from 0.3 to 18.7 mg kg-1. The level of Hg pollution decreasesfrom the oldest landfills of 18th century to recent ones. Mercurydistribution along vertical profiles resembles the same for copper, lead, andzinc, what allow supposing that mercury distribution has an autochthonous character.It is suggested that the principal source of mercury pollution was the activitiesrelated to animal skin and fair hair treatment, using ancient technology knownas "carroting". Similar scenario of environmental risk could be met in otherBrazilian cities with similar colonization history.

【 授权许可】

CC BY