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Tracking quicksilver: estimation of mercury waste from consumer products and subsequent verification by analysis of soil, water, sediment, and plant samples from the Cebu City, Philippines, landfill

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Abstract

Source attribution of mercury (Hg) is critical for policy development to minimize the impact of Hg in wastes. Mercury content of consumer products and its subsequent release into the waste stream of Cebu City, Philippines, is estimated through surveys that employed validated, enumerator-administered questionnaires. Initially, a citywide survey (n = 1636) indicates that each household annually generates 1.07 ppm Hg (i.e., mg Hg/kg waste) and that linear and compact fluorescent lamps (17.2 %) and thermometers (52.1 %) are the major sources of Hg. A subsequent survey (n = 372) in the vicinity of the city’s municipal solid waste landfill shows that residents in the area annually generate 0.38 ppm Hg per household, which is less than the citywide mean; surprisingly though, less affluent respondents living closer to the landfill site reported more Hg from thermometers and sphygmomanometers. Analysis of collected soil (0.238 ppm), leachate water (6.5 ppb), sediment (0.109 ppm), and three plants (0.393 to 0.695 ppm) shows no significant variation throughout five stations in and around the landfill site, although the period of collection is significant for soil (P = 0.001) and Cenchrus echinatus (P = 0.016). Detected Hg in the landfill is considerably less than the annual estimated release, indicating that there is minimal accumulation of Hg in the soil or in plants. As a result of this project, a policy brief has been provided to the Cebu City council in aid of hazardous waste legislation.

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Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to the Philippine Commission on Higher Education–Philippine Higher Education Research Network (CHED–PHERNet) for a grant that funded the empirical portion of this study. We acknowledge Ban Toxics! for supporting the initial household hazardous waste survey and the Cebu City government through the Committee on Parks and Playgrounds, Wildlife, Ecology, and Environmental Management chaired by Honorable Ma. Nida C. Cabrera for funding the subsequent survey. Finally, we thank Dr. Danilo T. Dy for his work on the statistical treatment of the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of San Carlos, Nasipit, 6000, Cebu City, Philippines

    Dale Jo B. Buagas, Cristi Cesar F. Megraso, John Darwin O. Namata & Patrick John Y. Lim

  2. A2D Project–Research Group for Alternatives to Development, Door 3 Mahogany Street, El Dorado Subdivision, Banilad, 6000, Cebu City, Philippines

    Karen P. Gatus & Aloysius M. L. Cañete

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  1. Dale Jo B. Buagas
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  2. Cristi Cesar F. Megraso
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Correspondence to Patrick John Y. Lim.

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Buagas, D.J.B., Megraso, C.C.F., Namata, J.D.O. et al. Tracking quicksilver: estimation of mercury waste from consumer products and subsequent verification by analysis of soil, water, sediment, and plant samples from the Cebu City, Philippines, landfill. Environ Monit Assess 187, 138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4321-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4321-0

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