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Mercury

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Inorganic Contaminants of Surface Water

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Environmental Management ((SSEM))

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Abstract

Mercury, with an average crustal abundance of 0.08 mg/kg, occurs in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. The most important ore is cinnabar (HgS), but there are at least another 30 common ores and gangue minerals that contain mercury in relatively high concentrations. Mercury, undergoing complex chemical reactions in the environment, forms a number of highly toxic organic derivatives. These compounds have been implicated in the adulteration of aquatic resources in numerous countries.

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    Jame W. Moore

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Moore, J.W. (1991). Mercury. In: Inorganic Contaminants of Surface Water. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3004-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3004-5_16

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