M. Barkdull, Natalie and T. Carling, Gregory and Rey, Kevin and Yudiantoro, Dwi Fitri (2019) Comparison of Mercury Contamination in FourIndonesian Watersheds Affected by Artisanaland Small Scale Gold Mining of Varying Scale. Springer International Publishing.
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Abstract
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining
(ASGM) accounts for almost half of anthropogenic
mercury (Hg) emissions worldwide and causes widespread
water pollution. In Indonesia, several studies
have identified harmful levels of Hg in areas affected
by ASGM. While most of these studies focus on mining
areas with thousands of miners, water contamination in
smaller ASGM areas is less understood. We evaluated
Hg contamination in four ASGM areas in Central Java
of varying scale (from 30 to 3000 amalgamator barrels
at each area), including Jatiroto, Kebonsari, Gumelar,
and Kulon Progo. At each location, we collected water
samples along river transects upstream and downstream
of ASGMareas during the dry season (June–July 2017).
Total Hg (THg) concentrations in stream water increased
by orders of magnitude from upstream to downstream
of ASGM activities at Jatiroto (1.35–4730 ng/L),
with smaller observed increases at the other locations.
Dissolved THg concentrations exceeded USEPA criteria
for aquatic life (12 ng/L) at two of the four ASGMareas.
THg concentrations in tailings exceeded 150,000 ng/L Notably, THg concentrations in stream water were not
directly related to the scale of mining, with Jatiroto
having the highest concentrations as second smallest
mining areas of the four in this study. Downstream of
the mining areas, the fraction of dissolved methyl Hg to
dissolved THg reached 20%, indicating that active Hg
methylation occurs in the watersheds. Further study is
needed to investigate Hg transport in the wet season
when rainfall and high stream discharge may mobilize
contaminated sediment near mining areas.
Keywords Trace elements
Total mercury
mercury
.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining
.
ASGM
.
Indonesia
| Item Type: | Other |
|---|---|
| Subjek: | Q Science > Q Science (General) |
| Divisions: | x. Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics > School of Engineering Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Dr.Ir.MT DWI FITRI YUDIANTORO |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2019 06:19 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2019 06:20 |
| URI: | http://eprints.upnyk.ac.id/id/eprint/20945 |
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