Strategies to Quantify and Decrease Mercury Bioavailability and Methylation Potential in the Aquatic Environment

Abstract:

Mercury (Hg) contamination in aquatic environments is a concern due to the production of monomethylmercury (MeHg), the highly bioaccumulative form that can impart neurotoxic effects to wildlife and humans. One strategy for remediation is to minimize MeHg production by anaerobic microorganisms that are prevalent in benthic settings. However, the factors that influence MeHg production and, in particular, the bioavailability of inorganic Hg for methylating microorganisms are poorly understood and difficult to quantify. This presentation will discuss the application of a thiol-based selective leaching assay to quantify the bioavailable fraction of Hg in sediments. This leaching assay involves quantification of leachable Hg concentrations in samples that are exposed to anoxic solutions containing glutathione (GSH). This thiol-based approach was chosen because cellular uptake and methylation of Hg by methylating bacteria are known to increase with the addition of GSH to cultures. This assay was applied to sediment-slurry microcosms that were amended with multiple types of inorganic Hg (dissolved Hg²⁺, Hg-sorbed to FeS, nanoparticulate HgS, microcrystalline HgS) that are known to span a range of bioavailability and methylation potential. The results demonstrated that the GSH-leachable Hg concentration correlated with MeHg production in cultures and microcosms. Methylation potential did not correlate to the concentration of Hg in the filtered aqueous fraction in the microcosm (i.e., passable though 0.2 um filters). These results suggest that a portion of the particle-bound Hg is available for methylation in a way that cannot be assessed by conventional filtration methods. The results of this work will be discussed in the context of management and in-situ remediation of contaminated sediments.