Effect of salinity on methylation of mercury

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980 · Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01985546· OSTI ID:6839942

Blum, J E; Bartha, R

Monomethyl and dimethylmercury are potent neurotoxins subject to biomagnification in food webs. This fact was tragically demonstrated by the Minamata and Niigata poisoning incidents in Japan in which 168 persons who ate seafood from mercury polluted waters were poisoned, 52 fatally. Shortly after these two incidents, work conducted in freshwater environments demonstrated the microbial conversion of inorganic and phenylmercury compounds to mono- and di-methylmercury. Consideration of some fragmentary evidence from the literature, however, indicates that the rate and the significance of microbial methylation of mercury in freshwater and saltwater environments may not be the same. A demonstrated relationship between mercury methylation rates and water salinity would greatly influence our thinking about mercury pollution effects in marine versus freshwater environments. Since we were unable to locate published reports on this subject, we are investigating the influence of salinity on the rate of mercury methylation in an estuarine sediment.

• Research Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ
• OSTI ID: 6839942
• Journal Information: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 25:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
MERCURY
METHYLATION
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
ESTUARIES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
SALINITY
SEAWATER
SEDIMENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
KINETICS
METALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REACTION KINETICS
SURFACE WATERS
WATER
520200* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)