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Distribution of Mercury Pollution and Its Source in the Soils and Vegetables in Guilin Area, China

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Abstract

Soils and vegetables were sampled and analyzed from nine vegetable fields in Guilin area, China. The average mercury (Hg) concentrations varied from 0.099 to 0.546 mg/kg in soils and from 0.046 to 0.132 mg/kg in plants. The distribution of Hg pollution in plants was correlated with that in soils. Generally, the Hg concentration in the plants decreased with the increasing distance between sampling sites and the city center. The Hg existed mostly in leaves of the plants, and then in their roots and stems, which suggested that the Hg in the atmosphere might be an important source of Hg in plants.

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Acknowledgments

The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40563001) and the Program of Small Highland Talents of Guangxi universities for geological resource and geological engineers (Guilin Teachers [2005]80).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, China

    Jianping Qian, Li Zhang, Huazhen Chen, Ming Hou, Yunfei Niu, Zheping Xu & Huili Liu

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  1. Jianping Qian
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  2. Li Zhang
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  3. Huazhen Chen
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  4. Ming Hou
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  5. Yunfei Niu
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  6. Zheping Xu
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  7. Huili Liu
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Correspondence to Jianping Qian.

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Qian, J., Zhang, L., Chen, H. et al. Distribution of Mercury Pollution and Its Source in the Soils and Vegetables in Guilin Area, China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 83, 920–925 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-009-9853-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-009-9853-y

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