Determination of Mercury Content in Surface Waters Using an Environmentally Non-Toxic Terminating Electrolyte

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Determination of Mercury Content in Surface Waters Using an Environmentally Non‑Toxic Terminating Electrolyte Joanna Jabłońska1 · Mariusz Kluska1  Received: 20 July 2020 / Accepted: 14 September 2020 © The Author(s) 2020

Abstract The paper presents results of the research on the dynamics of changes in the concentration of mercury in surface waters. The importance of mercury as an environmental pollutant results from specific properties of this metal, many sources of contamination, volatility, mobility, stability and high toxicity of its specific chemical forms. Samples of surface water collected from three rivers: the Bug, the Liwiec and the Muchawka were analysed. The Muchawka River flows into the Liwiec River, which in turn is a tributary of the Bug River. The technique of isotachophoresis was employed, using a solution of a biodegradable and environmentally non-toxic derivative of electrostatically stabilised silanates as the terminating electrolyte. The highest average mercury concentration of 0.89 μg/dm3 was determined in water samples collected from the Bug River in January, whereas the lowest concentration of 0.42 μg/dm3 was recorded in water collected from the Muchawka River in September. Keywords  Surface water · Mercury · Isotachophoresis · Silanates Mercury occurs in the natural environment. If the content is small and mercury constitutes only a component of minerals, it does not pose a significant threat to living organisms (Siudek et al. 2016a, b; Borzyszkowski and Gworek 2016; Kowalski et al. 2007; Kluska et al. 2007). However, the problem is human activity involving the release of large amounts of mercury into the environment, which may remain there for many years. The main problem is mercury contained in water and sediment, as it occurs there in a highly toxic form and can be taken up by animals, thus entering the human food chain. The World Health Organisation has identified 10 chemical substances that pose a serious threat to health, four of which are heavy metals: mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic (Michalski et al. 2018; 2019; Kluska et al. 2014; Siudek et al. 2016a, b). Human activity to date has led to the release of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of mercury into the environment. It is estimated that the level of mercury in the atmosphere is now five times higher than the natural level and the concentration of mercury in the oceans is about twice as high as * Mariusz Kluska [email protected] 1



Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, 54 3‑Maja St, 08‑110 Siedlce, Poland

the natural level. Therefore, much attention is being paid to the spread of mercury in all environmental compartments. This chemical element has been added to the list of priority pollutants by various organizations and programmes aimed at reducing the emission of heavy metals to the environment (Gworek et al. 2017; Nawała et al. 2016). Despite significant emission reductions, mercury is still widespread in the environment, in all its compartments and in the entire tr