Title
Mercury pollution in Peru: geographic distribution, health hazards, and sustainable removal technologies
Date Issued
01 August 2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
review
Publisher(s)
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
Peru is one of the great gold producers worldwide. However, a significant portion of the gold produced in Peru derives from artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in the Andes and Amazon. In ASGM, gold amalgamation with mercury (Hg) is a critical procedure to refine gold through the formation of Au-Hg alloys. Due to the rudimentary and improvised techniques conducted by small-scale and informal miners, Hg contamination has become of great concern and is strictly associated with ASGM. Multiple studies have evidenced notably high concentrations of Hg in consumable fish species, rivers, sediments, and air in locations where ASGM is one of the main sources of income to local communities and is carried out aggressively. In the present review, we have conducted a systematic search for national and international literature reporting the concentration and distribution of Hg pollution across environmental compartments, biota, and human samples in Peru. The results and data retrieved from the articles were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed, and the distribution of Hg across environmental compartments was visualized through a geographic information system. Additionally, we reviewed the use of adsorption techniques as alternatives to treat Hg0 vapor from the gold shop and smelter flues, one of the main sources of hazardous levels of Hg exposure.
Start page
54045
End page
54059
Volume
29
Issue
36
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias ambientales Ciencias del medio ambiente Mineralogía
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85131292860
PubMed ID
Source
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
ISSN of the container
09441344
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the Vice-rectorate of Research of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (VRI-PUCP).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus