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In Situ partitioning and biomagnification of mercury in industrially polluted Husainsagar Lake, Hyderabad, India

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Abstract

The distribution of Hg in water, sediment, plankton and fish along with the in situ biomagnification of the metal in Husainsagar Lake, India were measured. The concentration of Hg in the water was 10 μg L−1 and exceeded the water quality criteria standards. Sediments of the lake at different sites had Hg concentrations several thousand fold more than that of the overlying water column and showed relationship with the water content of the wet sediment. Sediments in the lake acted as a `sink' for the metal. The concentrations of Hg increased from nanoplankton → phytoplankton -> zooplankton. Fish, an end organism in the food chain, had Hg concentrations higher than that of nanoplankton and lower than those of phytoplankton and zooplankton. This trend did not illustrate the expected pattern of food chain enrichment in the classical sense as noted for chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Osmania University, 500007, Hyderabad, India

    A. K. Prahalad & G. Seenayya

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  1. A. K. Prahalad
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  2. G. Seenayya
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Prahalad, A.K., Seenayya, G. In Situ partitioning and biomagnification of mercury in industrially polluted Husainsagar Lake, Hyderabad, India. Water Air Soil Pollut 39, 81–87 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00250950

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00250950

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