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Assessment of the Bioavailability of Mercury Sulfides in Paddy Soils Using Sodium Thiosulfate Extraction - Results from Microcosm Experiments

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Abstract

Mercury sulfides (HgS), one of the largest Hg sinks in the lithosphere, has long been considered to be highly inert. Recently, several HgS speciation (e.g., nano- or micro-sized HgS particles) in paddy soils have been found to be reactive and bioavailable, increasing the possibility of methylation and bioaccumulation and posing a potential risk to humans. However, a simple and uniform method for investigating HgS bioavailability is still lacking. To address this issue, we extracted dissolved Hg from HgS particles by sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in paddy soils and analyzed the correlation between extracted Hg and soil methylmercury (MeHg). Results showed that the amounts of Hg extracted by Na2S2O3 had a strong positive correlation with the levels of soil MeHg (R 2 adj = 0.893, p < 0.05). It is suggested that Na2S2O3 extraction may be a good method of predicting Hg bioavailability in paddy soils. Our results would help to give clues in better predicting Hg risk in natural environments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2032201, 21777162) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20200322, BK20190319).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Hong Li, Yunyun Li, Jiating Zhao, Xu Bai, Shengnan Sha & Yuxi Gao

  2. Research Center of Radiographic Techniques and Equipment, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Hong Li & Diandou Xu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China

    Wenli Tang, Huan Zhong & Pei Lei

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Xu Bai & Shengnan Sha

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  1. Hong Li
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  2. Yunyun Li
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  3. Wenli Tang
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Li, H., Li, Y., Tang, W. et al. Assessment of the Bioavailability of Mercury Sulfides in Paddy Soils Using Sodium Thiosulfate Extraction - Results from Microcosm Experiments. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 109, 764–770 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-022-03483-w

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