Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mercury concentrations in environmental media at a hazardous solid waste landfill site and mercury emissions from the site

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) concentrations in air, effluent water, landfill gas, leachate, groundwater, and soil at a hazardous solid waste landfill site in Korea were measured along with air–soil surface Hg exchange fluxes at the site. The concentrations and fluxes were considerably higher than have been found elsewhere in Korea. Gaseous Hg concentrations in the air peaked during the day, coinciding with Hg being released from the landfill surface. This suggests that air–soil exchange increased the Hg concentrations in the atmosphere. The air–soil exchange flux increased abruptly when solar radiation reached the soil surface. The Hg flux peaked about 3 h before the solar radiation peaked, possibly because reducible Hg was abundant at the soil surface. The Hg emission flux activation energy (E a) was low, indicating that the Hg species present and Hg–soil binding were probably not as important (because of the high Hg content of the soil) as in previous studies. The methylmercury to total Hg ratios in the discharged effluent, groundwater, and leachate was clearly higher than typically found in coastal water and freshwater, suggesting bacteria caused active methylation to occur under the reducing conditions in the anaerobic landfill. The results suggested that considerable amounts of Hg are probably transported from the landfill to nearby environmental media and that this will continue if waste with a high Hg content continues to be added to the landfill without being pretreated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agah H, Elskens M, Fatemi SMR, Owfi F, Baeyens W, Leermakers M (2009) Mercury speciation in the Persian Gulf sediments. Environ Monit Assess 157:363–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahn M, Han Y (2008) Estimation of atmospheric mercury wet-deposition to lake So-yang. J Korean Soc Atmos Environ 24:693–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aspmo K, Gauchard P, Steffen A, Temme C, Berg T, Bahlmann E, Banic C, Dommergue A, Ebinghaus R, Ferrari C (2005) Measurements of atmospheric mercury species during an international study of mercury depletion events at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, spring 2003. How reproducible are our present methods? Atmos Environ 39:7607–7619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bahlmann E, Ebinghaus R, Ruck W (2006) Development and application of a laboratory flux measurement system (LFMS) for the investigation of the kinetics of mercury emissions from soils. J Environ Manage 81:114–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpi A, Lindberg SE (1998) Application of a Teflon™ dynamic flux chamber for quantifying soil mercury flux: tests and results over background soil. Atmos Environ 32:873–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chai X, Hao Y, Li Z, Zhu W, Zhao W (2015) The dependence of the methylation of mercury on the landfill stabilization process and implications for the landfill management. Chemosphere 119:828–834

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng I, Zhang L, Mao H, Blanchard P, Tordon R, Dalziel J (2014) Seasonal and diurnal patterns of speciated atmospheric mercury at a coastal-rural and a coastal-urban site. Atmos Environ 82:193–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi H, Holsen TM (2009a) Gaseous mercury emissions from unsterilized and sterilized soils: the effect of temperature and UV radiation. Environ Pollut 157:1673–1678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi H, Holsen TM (2009b) Gaseous mercury fluxes from the forest floor of the Adirondacks. Environ Pollut 157:592–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi H, Alexander J, Huang J, Holsen TM (2007) Mercury inputs, outputs, cycling and ambient concentrations under the forest canopy in the Adirondacks of New York. Clarkson University, Potsdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi E, Kim S, Holsen TM, Yi S (2009) Total gaseous concentrations in mercury in Seoul, Korea: local sources compared to long-range transport from China and Japan. Environ Pollut 157:816–822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen TH, Kjeldsen P, Bjerg PL, Jensen DL, Christensen JB, Baun A, Albrechtsen H, Heron G (2001) Biogeochemistry of landfill leachate plumes. Appl Geochem 16:659–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conaway CH, Squire S, Mason RP, Flegal AR (2003) Mercury speciation in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Mar Chem 80:199–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett-Hains H, Walters NE, Van Heyst BJ (2012) Evaluating the effects of sub-zero temperature cycling on mercury flux from soils. Atmos Environ 63:102–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de la Rosa DA, Velasco A, Rosas A, Volke-Sepulveda T (2006) Total gaseous mercury and volatile organic compounds measurements at five municipal solid waste disposal sites surrounding the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Atmos Environ 40:2079–2088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dommergue A, Sprovieri F, Pirrone N, Ebinghaus R, Brooks S, Courteaud J, Ferrari C (2010) Overview of mercury measurements in the Antarctic troposphere. Atmos Chem Phys 10:3309–3319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckley C, Gustin M, Lin C, Li X, Miller M (2010) The influence of dynamic chamber design and operating parameters on calculated surface-to-air mercury fluxes. Atmos Environ 44:194–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ericksen J, Gustin M, Schorran D, Johnson D, Lindberg S, Coleman J (2003) Accumulation of atmospheric mercury in forest foliage. Atmos Environ 37:1613–1622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng X, Tang S, Li Z, Wang S, Liang L (2004) Landfill is an important atmospheric mercury emission source. Chin Sci Bull 49:2068–2072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flores ÉL, Paniz JN, Flores ÉM, Pozebon D, Dressler VL (2009) Mercury speciation in urban landfill leachate by cold vapor generation atomic absorption spectrometry using ion exchange and amalgamation. J Braz Chem Soc 20:1659–1666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu X, Feng X, Wang S (2008) Exchange fluxes of Hg between surfaces and atmosphere in the eastern flank of Mount Gongga, Sichuan province, southwestern China. J Geophys Res Atmos 113

  • Fu X, Feng X, Zhang H, Yu B, Chen L (2012) Mercury emissions from natural surfaces highly impacted by human activities in Guangzhou province, South China. Atmos Environ 54:185–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godbold DL, Hüttermann A (1988) Inhibition of photosynthesis and transpiration in relation to mercury-induced root damage in spruce seedlings. Physiol Plant 74:270–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmidt CR, Fitzgerald WF (2008) Sediment–water exchange of methylmercury determined from shipboard benthic flux chambers. Mar Chem 109:86–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han Y, Kim J, Kim P, Kim W, Yi S, Seo Y, Kim S (2014) General trends of atmospheric mercury concentrations in urban and rural areas in Korea and characteristics of high-concentration events. Atmos Environ 94:754–764

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson P, Lindberg S, Tabberer T, Ja Owens, Kim K (1995) Foliar exchange of mercury vapor: evidence for a compensation point. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:373–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haro RJ, Bailey SW, Northwick RM, Rolfhus KR, Sandheinrich MB, Wiener JG (2013) Burrowing dragonfly larvae as biosentinels of methylmercury in freshwater food webs. Environ Sci Technol 47:8148–8156

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins L, Prestbo E (2004) Dimethyl mercury in municipal waste landfill gas: measurements and analytical method development 28

  • Hirner AV, Feldmann J, Goguel R, Rapsomanikis S, Fischer R, Andreae MO (1994) Volatile metal and metalloid species in gases from municipal waste deposits. Appl Organomet Chem 8:65–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilgen G, Glindemann D, Herrmann R, Hertel F, Huang J (2008) Organometals of tin, lead and mercury compounds in landfill gases and leachates from Bavaria, Germany. Waste Manage 28:1518–1527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim DS, Choi K (2012) Global trends in mercury management. J Prev Med Public Health 45:364–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K, Kim M, Lee G (2001) The soil–air exchange characteristics of total gaseous mercury from a large-scale municipal landfill area. Atmos Environ 35:3475–3493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S, Han Y, Holsen TM, Yi S (2009) Characteristics of atmospheric speciated mercury concentrations (TGM, Hg(II) and Hg (p)) in Seoul, Korea. Atmos Environ 43:3267–3274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K, Shon Z, Nguyen HT, Jung K, Park C, Bae GN (2011) The effect of man made source processes on the behavior of total gaseous mercury in air: a comparison between four urban monitoring sites in Seoul Korea. Sci Total Environ 409:3801–3811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K, Yoon Y, Brown R, Jeon E, Sohn J, Jung K, Park C, Kim I (2013) Simultaneous monitoring of total gaseous mercury at four urban monitoring stations in Seoul, Korea. Atmos Res 132–133:199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim E, Noh S, Lee Y, Kundu SR, Lee B, Park K, Han S (2014) Mercury and methylmercury flux estimation and sediment distribution in an industrialized urban bay. Mar Chem 158:59–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kocman D, Horvat M (2010) A laboratory based experimental study of mercury emission from contaminated soils in the River Idrijca catchment. Atmos Chem Phys 10:1417–1426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korean Ministry of Environment (2009) A fundamental study of mercury circulation and emission in Korea. Gwacheon, pp 347–348 (Korean)

  • Lee KJ, Lee TG (2012) A review of international trends in mercury management and available options for permanent or long-term mercury storage. J Hazard Mater 241:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Lowry GV, Hsu-Kim H (2016) Biogeochemical transformations of mercury in solid waste landfills and pathways for release. Environ Sci Process Impacts 18:176–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Feng X, Li P, Liang L, Tang S, Wang S, Fu X, Qiu G, Shang L (2010) Emissions of air-borne mercury from five municipal solid waste landfills in Guiyang and Wuhan, China. Atmos Chem Phys 10:3353–3364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Price J (1999) Airborne emissions of mercury from municipal landfill operations: a short-term measurement study in Florida. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 49:520–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Jackson D, Huckabee J, Janzen S, Levin M, Lund J (1979) Atmospheric emission and plant uptake of mercury from agricultural soils near the Almaden mercury mine. J Environ Qual 8:572–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Wallschlaeger D, Prestbo E, Bloom N, Price J, Reinhart D (2001) Methylated mercury species in municipal waste landfill gas sampled in Florida, USA. Atmos Environ 35:4011–4015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Southworth G, Prestbo E, Wallschläger D, Bogle M, Price J (2005) Gaseous methyl-and inorganic mercury in landfill gas from landfills in Florida, Minnesota, Delaware, and California. Atmos Environ 39:249–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luengen AC, Russell Flegal A (2009) Role of phytoplankton in mercury cycling in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Limnol Oceanogr 54:23–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) (2011) Estimation of recyclable Hg amounts from major industrial facilities in Korea, Incheon (written in Korean)

  • Nguyen P, Kuruparan P, Visvanathan C (2007) Anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste as a treatment prior to landfill. Bioresour Technol 98:380–387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen HT, Kim K, Kim M, Shon Z (2008) Exchange pattern of gaseous elemental mercury in an active urban landfill facility. Chemosphere 70:821–832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouddane B, Mikac N, Cundy A, Quillet L, Fischer J (2008) A comparative study of mercury distribution and methylation in mudflats from two macrotidal estuaries: the Seine (France) and the Medway (United Kingdom). Appl Geochem 23:618–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacyna EG, Pacyna J, Sundseth K, Munthe J, Kindbom K, Wilson S, Steenhuisen F, Maxson P (2010) Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020. Atmos Environ 44:2487–2499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pandey SK, Kim K, Yim U, Jung M, Kang C (2009) Airborne mercury pollution from a large oil spill accident on the west coast of Korea. J Hazard Mater 164:380–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park J, Oh S, Shin M, Yi S, Zoh K (2006) Variations on the concentration of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) at the Juam reservoir, Korea. J Korean Soc Environ Eng 28:667–676

    Google Scholar 

  • Park S, Kim P, Han Y (2013) Mercury exchange flux from two different soil types and affecting parameters. Asian J Atmos Environ 7:199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park S, Holsen TM, Kim P, Han Y (2014) Laboratory investigation of factors affecting mercury emissions from soils. Environ Earth Sci 72:2711–2721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poissant L, Casimir A (1998) Water-air and soil-air exchange rate of total gaseous mercury measured at background sites. Atmos Environ 32:883–893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prestbo E, Hawkins L, Cussen D, Fowler C (2003) Determination of total and dimethyl mercury in raw landfill gas with site screening for elemental mercury at eight Washington state landfills for the Washington State Department of Ecology. Report for Gallagher M, Bennett J, of Washington State Department of Ecology

  • Raloff J (2001) Landfills make mercury more toxic. Sci News 160:4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seo Y, Jeong S, Holsen TM, Han Y, Choi E, Park EH, Kim TY, Eum H, Park DG, Kim E (2016) Characteristics of total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations in an industrial complex in South Korea: impacts from local sources. Atmos Chem Phys 16:10215–10228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shao D, Kang Y, Wu S, Wong MH (2012) Effects of sulfate reducing bacteria and sulfate concentrations on mercury methylation in freshwater sediments. Sci Total Environ 424:331–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith T, Pitts K, McGarvey JA, Summers AO (1998) Bacterial oxidation of mercury metal vapor, Hg(0). Appl Environ Microbiol 64:1328–1332

    Google Scholar 

  • Sommar J, Feng X, Lindqvist O (1999) Speciation of volatile mercury species present in digester and deposit gases. Appl Organomet Chem 13:441–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamenkovic J, Gustin MS, Arnone JA, Johnson DW, Larsen JD, Verburg PS (2008) Atmospheric mercury exchange with a tallgrass prairie ecosystem housed in mesocosms. Sci Total Environ 406:227–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen A, Scherz T, Olson M, Gay D, Blanchard P (2012) A comparison of data quality control protocols for atmospheric mercury speciation measurements. J Environ Monit 14:752–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (2013) The global atmospheric mercury assessment. UNEP Chemicals Branch, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (1998) Method 1630, methyl mercury in water by distillation, aqueous ethylation, purge and trap, and CVAFS. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (2002) Method 1631, Revision E: mercury in water by oxidation, purge and trap, and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiaoli C, Yongxia H, Guixiang L, Zhonggen L, Youcaci Z (2013) The effect of aerobic conditions on the complexation ability between mercury and humic acid from landfill leachate and its implication for the environment. Chemosphere 92:458–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y, Zhang C, Shi X, Tao L, Wang D (2007) Effect of organic matter and pH on mercury release from soils. J Environ Sci 19:1349–1354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu W, Li Z, Chai X, Hao Y, Lin C, Sommar J, Feng X (2013) Emission characteristics and air–surface exchange of gaseous mercury at the largest active landfill in Asia. Atmos Environ 79:188–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (Grant No. 2015R1A2A203008301) and by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as part of the “Environmental Health Action Program” (2015001370001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Kangwon-do, Republic of Korea

    Young-Ji Han

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Kangwon-do, Republic of Korea

    Pyung-Rae Kim, Gang-San Lee & Jae-In Lee

  3. School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

    Seam Noh

  4. Chemicals Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Seam Noh, Seok-Min Yu, Kwang-Su Park, Kwang-Seol Seok, Hyuk Kim & Young-Hee Kim

Authors
  1. Young-Ji Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pyung-Rae Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gang-San Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jae-In Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Seam Noh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Seok-Min Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kwang-Su Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kwang-Seol Seok
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Hyuk Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Young-Hee Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Young-Hee Kim.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 481 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Han, YJ., Kim, PR., Lee, GS. et al. Mercury concentrations in environmental media at a hazardous solid waste landfill site and mercury emissions from the site. Environ Earth Sci 76, 361 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6700-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6700-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation