Effects of modern and ancient human activities on mercury in the environment in Xi'an area, Shannxi Province, P.R. China.
Samples of water, soil, sediment, and pomegranate were collected from Xi'an and the Qinshihuang Mausoleum in Shaanxi Province, China to assess the effects of human activities on mercury in the environment. The total mercury concentrations ranged from 3.9 to 992.7ngL(-1) for the water samples, 40.6 to 2204.0ngg(-1) for the soil samples, 14.2 to 376.7ngg(-1) for the sediment samples, and 0.22 to 1.74ngg(-1) for the pomegranates samples. The higher values in the water samples collected from the rivers closer to and downstream of the city resulted from wastewater discharges. The effects of the mercury buried in the Qinshihuang Mausoleum thousands of years ago on the environment were neither significant nor widespread. Immediate actions should be taken to stop the direct and continuous discharges of industrial and residential wastewaters to prevent mercury and other pollutants from accumulating and spreading in the area.
Jin
Yongqing
Y
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, People's Republic of China.
Wang
Xiaojuan
X
Lu
Julia
J
Zhang
Chengxiao
C
Duan
Qingbo
Q
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D029561:Lythraceae / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry; D013995:Time; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry
D000393:Air Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury