Levels of mercury in the Ocean have tripled since the Industrial Revolution
In the years 1950, a neurological epidemic killed thousands of inhabitants of the coastal city of Minamata in Japan, and caused brain injuries to newborns. Only later did the inhabitants learned that the fish had eaten was contaminated with toxic mercury, resulting from a discharge from a chemical plant in the area.A new study indicates that the levels of mercury in the oceans have been increasing and researchers estimate that the quantity of the substance in oceanic waters has tripled since the Industrial Revolution, which endangers the marine species as well as human health.Various industrial processes, such as small-scale gold mining and coal combustion emit mercury into the atmosphere. In gold mining, the miners use liquid mercury to absorb the gold from the ore. Subsequently, make the mercury evaporate and the gold stays. Already the coal combustion releases mercury exists naturally in the mineral, referred to News from Science.When the atmosphere, mercury can travel during months and thousands of kilometers in suspension until it rains and is deposited in the oceans. Already present in the ocean, bacteria help to convert metal into methylmercury, which enters the food chain and accumulates in fish.The contaminated fish consumption is the main source of human exposure to mercury. However, monitor metal levels in the oceans has been a challenge for researchers, because mercury is present in lower concentrations in the waters and a lot of time and resources is required to collect samples.The calculations made for the study show that the oceans contain between 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes of mercury from pollution, with almost two-thirds present in waters with depth less than 1,000 metres.The concentrations of mercury in waters shallower tripled when compared with concentrations of pre-industrial times. Average depth waters, metal concentrations have increased about 1.5 times. The large concentrations of mercury in waters shallower can increase the accumulation of toxins in fish, exposing humans to mercury poisoning.
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