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A Mass Balance Mercury Budget for a Mine-Dominated Lake: Clear Lake, California

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Abstract

The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (SBMM), active intermittently from 1873–1957 and now a USEPA Superfund site, was previously estimated to have contributed at least 100 metric tons (105 kg) of mercury (Hg) into the Clear Lake aquatic ecosystem. We have confirmed this minimum estimate. To better quantify the contribution of the mine in relation to other sources of Hg loading into Clear Lake and provide data that might help reduce that loading, we analyzed Inputs and Outputs of Hg to Clear Lake and Storage of Hg in lakebed sediments using a mass balance approach. We evaluated Inputs from (1) wet and dry atmospheric deposition from both global/regional and local sources, (2) watershed tributaries, (3) groundwater inflows, (4) lakebed springs and (5) the mine. Outputs were quantified from (1) efflux (volatilization) of Hg from the lake surface to the atmosphere, (2) municipal and agricultural water diversions, (3) losses from out-flowing drainage of Cache Creek that feeds into the California Central Valley and (4) biotic Hg removal by humans and wildlife. Storage estimates include (1) sediment burial from historic and prehistoric periods (over the past 150–3,000 years) from sediment cores to ca. 2.5m depth dated using dichloro diphenyl dichloroethane (DDD), 210Pb and 14C and (2) recent Hg deposition in surficial sediments. Surficial sediments collected in October 2003 (11 years after mine site remediation) indicate no reduction (but a possible increase) in sediment Hg concentrations over that time and suggest that remediation has not significantly reduced overall Hg loading to the lake. Currently, the mine is believed to contribute ca. 322–331 kg of Hg annually to Clear Lake, which represents ca. 86–99% of the total Hg loading to the lake. We estimate that natural sedimentation would cover the existing contaminated sediments within ca. 150–300 years.

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Notes

  1. A flask = 75–76.5 lbs, depending on the mining era.

  2. The DDD horizon is defined as the vertical position within the sediment core where DDD appeared suddenly and quickly reached a concentration peak, corresponding to the massive application of this pesticide to the lake in 1954. See Richerson et al. (in press) and Osleger et al. (in press) for details of all dating techniques.

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Acknowledgments

Deep appreciation is extended to the many staff from the U.C. Davis Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC) at Clear Lake who contributed greatly to the collection and processing of data and samples, analyses and discussions over the entire 15year period of this study. Dr. Andy Bale helped with the section on Hg efflux from the lake surface. This work was supported by the USEPA-funded (R819658 & R825433) Center for Ecological Health Research at UC Davis, USEPA Region 9 Superfund Program (68-S2-9005) and UC Davis faculty research grants to THS. We also thank Dr. Mark Marvin DiPasquale, Karen Phillips, Julie Yee and three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on earlier drafts. Although the information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it may not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

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Author notes

  1. Thomas H. Suchanek

    Present address: Western Ecological Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 3020 State University Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95819, USA

  2. Kaylene Keller

    Present address: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, 6600 Kalaniana’ole Hwy, Suite 300, Honolulu, HI, 96825, USA

  3. Salvador Jorgensen

    Present address: Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950, USA

  4. Collin A. Eagles-Smith

    Present address: Western Ecological Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Davis Field Station, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

  5. David P. Adam

    Present address: , 18522 Sentinel Court, Hidden Valley Lake, CA, 95467, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Thomas H. Suchanek, Salvador Jorgensen, Collin A. Eagles-Smith & David P. Adam

  2. Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, 11020 Sun Center Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA, 95670, USA

    Janis Cooke

  3. Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Kaylene Keller & Peter J. Richerson

  4. Department of Statistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    E. James Harner

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Suchanek, T.H., Cooke, J., Keller, K. et al. A Mass Balance Mercury Budget for a Mine-Dominated Lake: Clear Lake, California. Water Air Soil Pollut 196, 51–73 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9757-1

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