Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Volume 159, Issue 12, Pages 3721-3729Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.07.011
Keywords
Critical Limits; Mercury; Soil; Toxicity
Categories
Funding
- UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [AQ0805]
- Scottish Executive
- National Assembly of Wales
- Department of the Environment (in Northern Ireland)
- NERC
- Natural Environment Research Council [ceh010023] Funding Source: researchfish
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The median total mercury concentration in 898 UK rural topsoils, sampled between 1998 and 2008, was 0.095 mu g g(-1). Approximate adjustment for unreactive metal produced an estimate of 0.052 mu g g(-1) for reactive Hg. The highest concentrations were in the north and west, where organic-rich soils with low bulk densities dominate, but the spatial pattern was quite different if soil Hg pools (mg m(-2)) were considered, the highest values being near to the industrial north of England and London. Possible toxic effects of Hg were best evaluated by comparison with soil Critical Limits expressed as ratios of Hg to soil organic matter, or soil solution Hg2+ concentrations, estimated by chemical speciation modelling. Only a few percent of the rural UK soils showed exceedance, and this also applied to rural soils from the whole of Europe. UK urban and industrial soils had higher Hg concentrations and more cases of exceedance. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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