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Mercury in fish tissues in the area of Malachov Hg-ore deposit (Slovakia)

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Abstract

The abandoned Malachov deposit belongs among the most important historic Hg deposits in the world. The soil, groundwater, surface water, plants, and animals are still heavily contaminated by potentially toxic elements such as As and Cd, but mainly by Hg. This article is focused on the Hg contamination of aquatic plants and animals in the Malachov creek. Mercury concentrations were measured in fresh water (on average 3 µg L−1), in the zoobenthos (on average 362.47 µg kg−1), and in the phytobenthos (on average 578.36 µg kg−1). Higher Hg concentrations were determined in the muscles of Salmo trutta morpha fario (on average 362.47 µg kg−1) and lower in Cottus poecilopus (on average 352.75 µg kg−1). The Hg concentrations were higher in the internal tissues (578.36–1185.75 µg kg−1) than in the muscles of the fish. The Hg content in fresh water exceeded Regulation of the Slovak Government No. 269/2010, which stipulates the criteria for achieving a proper water balance, but the Hg content in the fish muscles of both fish species was below the specified limit of the Food Code of Governmental Regulation of the Slovak Republic No. 608/3/2004–100. The Hg contamination in fishes is controlled by their weight and age. The presented data may be used as the base information for future studies in order to be able to estimate consumption recommendations and warnings.

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Funding

This research was funded by grant scheme No. 1/0291/19 of the Grant Agency VEGA (Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, 97401, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

    Peter Andráš, Pavol Midula & Vojtech Dirner

  2. Tajovského Ul. 28B, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, 97401, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

    Jana Dadová

  3. Profi Centrum Tajboš, s.r.o, 9. mája 42, 97703, Brezno, Slovakia

    Roman Romančík

  4. State Institute of Public Health, Cesta k nemocnici 1, 97556, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

    Daniela Borošová

Authors
  1. Peter Andráš
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  2. Jana Dadová
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  3. Roman Romančík
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  4. Daniela Borošová
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  5. Pavol Midula
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  6. Vojtech Dirner
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Contributions

PA—composed the main chapters of the manuscript and supervised the whole research, JD—performed the detailed research of mining activity in Malachov, RR, DB—performed the sampling and analytical works, PM, VD—performed statistical evaluation, contributed with several paragraphs in chapters Results and Discussion, prepared the formal shape of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pavol Midula.

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The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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All procedures performed in this study involving living animals were in accordance with ethical standards and were supervised by Slovak Fishermen’s Association.

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Andráš, P., Dadová, J., Romančík, R. et al. Mercury in fish tissues in the area of Malachov Hg-ore deposit (Slovakia). Environ Geochem Health 43, 3675–3681 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00861-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00861-x

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