7088

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7088
• Author: Eisler, R.
• Title: Mercury Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates
• USFW Year: 1987.
• USFW - Doc Type: A Synoptic Review.
• Copyright Material: NO

flow to the atmosphere, or about 2,400 tons per year (Kim and Fitzgerald
1986). Mercury finds its way into sediments, particularly oceanic sediments,
where the retention time can be lengthy (Table 2), and where it may continue
to contaminate aquatic organisms (Lindsay and Dimmick 1983). Estimates of the
quantities of Hg entering the atmosphere from degassing of the surface of the
planet vary widely, but a commonly quoted figure is 30,000 tons annually
(Clarkson et al. 1984). In aquatic ecosystems, removal of the source of
anthropogenic Hg results in a slow decrease in the Hg content of sediments and
biota (NAS 1978). The rate of loss depends, in part, on the initial degree of
contamination, the chemical form of Hg, physical and chemical conditions of
the system, and the hydraulic turnover time (NAS 1978).
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