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Mercury speciation and mobility in mine wastes from mercury mines in China

  • Contaminated Land, Ecological Assessment and Remediation Conference Series (CLEAR 2012) : Environmental Pollution and Risk Assessments
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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) speciation and mobility were determined in calcines and waste rocks collected from 9 Hg mines in China. Total Hg (THg) concentrations in the mine wastes varied widely in different Hg mines (with a range of 0.369 to 2,620 mg kg−1). Cinnabar is the dominant form of Hg in the mine wastes. However, Hg2+ and Hg0 concentrations in the calcines were significantly higher than these in the waste rocks, which suggested the retorting can produce large amounts of by-product Hg compounds. The THg and Hg0 concentrations in certain mine wastes exceeded soil guidelines recommended by US Environmental Protection Agency; while total soluble Hg concentrations of leachates in certain mine wastes exceeded National Surface Water Quality Standard of China. Mine wastes are important Hg pollution sources to the aquatic ecosystem and atmosphere.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB430004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21007068 and 41021062), the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Natural Science Foundation of Guizhou Province (2009–2003), and the Social Development Project of Guizhou Province (2012–3044).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Ping Li, Xinbin Feng, Guangle Qiu, Bo Meng & Jianxu Wang

  2. Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Junfang Zhang

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  1. Ping Li
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  2. Xinbin Feng
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  3. Guangle Qiu
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  4. Junfang Zhang
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  5. Bo Meng
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  6. Jianxu Wang
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Correspondence to Xinbin Feng.

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Responsible editor: Stuart Simpson

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Li, P., Feng, X., Qiu, G. et al. Mercury speciation and mobility in mine wastes from mercury mines in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 8374–8381 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1731-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1731-9

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