Preface
Mercury is outstanding among the global environmental pollutants of continuing
concern. Especially in the last decade of the 20 th century, environmental scientists,
legislators, politicians, and the public have become more aware of mercury pollution in the global environment. It has often been suggested that anthropogenic
emissions are leading to a general increase in mercury on local, regional, and global scales. Numerous industrial activities, including the mining of gold, silver, and
mercury itself, have caused mercury contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Mercury-contaminated sites are abundant worldwide. Mercury has been
accumulated as an "industrial legacy" in the rocks, soils, and sediments at, and
adjacent to, industrial sites and now may pose significant risks to human and ecological health. Direct inputs of mercury into the environment by industrial activities have generally decreased significantly in the Western world over the past three
decades. However, sources such as coal combustion and the use of mercury in gold
and silver mining continue to be of importance on a global scale. The same is true
for diffuse sources such as terrestrial landscapes that have been impacted by mercury inputs from the atmosphere in the past. Soils (and vegetation) located close
to large atmospheric mercury sources have clearly been sinks while these sources
were active in the past. In the long run, however, these soils may have become
important diffuse area sources after the original emissions were discontinued.
Unlike other metals, which are generally not very volatile, mercury from contaminated sites can have a significant impact on remote ecosystems via the atmospheric pathway. Thus, mercury contamination is not only just a local issue but also has
global dimensions.
This book summarizes, for the first time, information on the characterization, risk
assessment, and remediation of mercury-contaminated sites on the European,
Asian, and American continents. Review chapters are supplemented by detailed
inernational case studies. Included are papers which were initially presented at the
4th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held in Hamburg,
Germany, August 4 - 8,1996. The conference was organized jointly by GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Germany, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, and
was attended by over 400 participants from 35 nations.
It was the decision of the technical advisory team to publish the Hamburg conference papers in the peer reviewed open literature. This has now been achieved
through the preparation of five special journal issues and this book covering
all topics from the conference. These publications contain about one-third of the
Mercury is outstanding among the global environmental pollutants of continuing
concern. Especially in the last decade of the 20 th century, environmental scientists,
legislators, politicians, and the public have become more aware of mercury pollution in the global environment. It has often been suggested that anthropogenic
emissions are leading to a general increase in mercury on local, regional, and global scales. Numerous industrial activities, including the mining of gold, silver, and
mercury itself, have caused mercury contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Mercury-contaminated sites are abundant worldwide. Mercury has been
accumulated as an "industrial legacy" in the rocks, soils, and sediments at, and
adjacent to, industrial sites and now may pose significant risks to human and ecological health. Direct inputs of mercury into the environment by industrial activities have generally decreased significantly in the Western world over the past three
decades. However, sources such as coal combustion and the use of mercury in gold
and silver mining continue to be of importance on a global scale. The same is true
for diffuse sources such as terrestrial landscapes that have been impacted by mercury inputs from the atmosphere in the past. Soils (and vegetation) located close
to large atmospheric mercury sources have clearly been sinks while these sources
were active in the past. In the long run, however, these soils may have become
important diffuse area sources after the original emissions were discontinued.
Unlike other metals, which are generally not very volatile, mercury from contaminated sites can have a significant impact on remote ecosystems via the atmospheric pathway. Thus, mercury contamination is not only just a local issue but also has
global dimensions.
This book summarizes, for the first time, information on the characterization, risk
assessment, and remediation of mercury-contaminated sites on the European,
Asian, and American continents. Review chapters are supplemented by detailed
inernational case studies. Included are papers which were initially presented at the
4th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held in Hamburg,
Germany, August 4 - 8,1996. The conference was organized jointly by GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Germany, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, and
was attended by over 400 participants from 35 nations.
It was the decision of the technical advisory team to publish the Hamburg conference papers in the peer reviewed open literature. This has now been achieved
through the preparation of five special journal issues and this book covering
all topics from the conference. These publications contain about one-third of the