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Effects of forest fires on mercury accumulation in soil at the artisanal small-scale gold mining

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Abstract

In response to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, international organizations, governments, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions as well as individuals have worked to promote the development and implementation of safe and environmentally healthy practices, processes, and products. It is expected that the accumulation of mercury in the natural environment will decrease in volume each year. However, even after Hg ceases to be used, the Hg already accumulated in forests will continue to pose an ecological risk. Forest fires are serious events, partly because they release accumulated Hg from the environment. In this study, the effects of forest fires on the accumulation and chemical species of Hg in soil, related to the mobilization of Hg, were investigated. The research was conducted in secondary forests located near artisanal small-scale gold mining sites, where Hg is used for the amalgamation of gold in Camarines Norte, Philippines. The results showed that the original Hg accumulation level in the burned forest was not as high as that in the control forest, and that burn severity might have affected only the surface soil (0–5 cm). However, the proportion of water-soluble Hg, which was derived from ash, was increased by fire. Therefore, it is suggested that forest fires not only increase the release of Hg into the atmosphere but also increase the outflow risk to the aquatic system through rainfall.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate various cooperation of Dr. Ian A Navarrete from Ateneo de Manila University to our research activities in the Philippines. We are grateful to the staff of BAN Toxics and the municipal office of Camarines Norte for their helpful assistance in collecting soil samples from Camarines Norte, Philippines.

Funding

This research was financially supported by KAKENHI (grant number: 16H05629).

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Correspondence to Chisato Takenaka.

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Takenaka, C., Shibata, H., Tomiyasu, T. et al. Effects of forest fires on mercury accumulation in soil at the artisanal small-scale gold mining. Environ Monit Assess 193, 699 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09394-3

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