Tracing the source of mercury contamination in the Dorena Lake watershed, Western Oregon

Abstract.

Although fish in Dorena Lake are contaminated with mercury, the source of pollution in the watershed was unconfirmed until the present study. To trace the mercury to its source, fine-grained sediment samples were collected from the major streams of the watershed. A few samples of mine waste/tailings were also obtained from the Bohemia Mining District where mercury was historically used in processing gold and silver ore. Mercury concentrations in sediment from streams that do not drain the central mining district average 0.066 ppm, whereas samples taken downstream of the district contain 0.140–1.339 ppm. Mine waste/tailings contain 13.441 to >50 ppm mercury. The source of mercury contamination in the Dorena Lake watershed is thus the Bohemia Mining District. Historical and geological evidence strongly suggests that the mercury problem in the district resulted from gold–mercury amalgamation practices, but naturally high mercury content in mineralized areas cannot be ruled out with the data presented here.