Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true?
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that is emitted to the atmosphere through human activities, mainly fossil fuel combustion. Hg accumulations in soil are associated with atmospheric deposition, while coal-burning power plants remain the most important source of anthropogenic mercury emissions. In this study, we analyzed the Hg concentration in the topsoil of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin where four coal-fired power plants (4,065 MW) run to provide 50 % of electricity in Greece. The study aimed to investigate the extent of soil contamination by Hg using geostatistical techniques to evaluate the presumed Hg enrichment around the four power plants. Hg variability in agricultural soils was evaluated using 276 soil samples from 92 locations covering an area of 1,000 km2. We were surprised to find a low Hg content in soil (range 1-59 μg kg-1) and 50 % of samples with a concentration lower than 6 μg kg-1. The influence of mercury emissions from the four coal-fired power plants on soil was poor or virtually nil. We associate this effect with low Hg contents in the coal (1.5-24.5 μg kg-1) used in the combustion of these power plants (one of the most Hg-poor in the world). Despite anthropic activity in the area, we conclude that Hg content in the agricultural soils of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin is present in low concentrations. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
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Format: | artículo biblioteca |
Language: | English |
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Springer
2014
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Subjects: | Heavy metals, Soil mercury enriched, Coal-fired power plants, Mercury deposition, Geostatistics, Atmospheric pollution, |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/3805 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/292306 |
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dig-inia-es-10261-2923062023-02-20T07:27:36Z Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? Rodríguez Martín, José Antonio Nanos, N. Grigoratos, T. Carbonell, G. Samara, C. Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that is emitted to the atmosphere through human activities, mainly fossil fuel combustion. Hg accumulations in soil are associated with atmospheric deposition, while coal-burning power plants remain the most important source of anthropogenic mercury emissions. In this study, we analyzed the Hg concentration in the topsoil of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin where four coal-fired power plants (4,065 MW) run to provide 50 % of electricity in Greece. The study aimed to investigate the extent of soil contamination by Hg using geostatistical techniques to evaluate the presumed Hg enrichment around the four power plants. Hg variability in agricultural soils was evaluated using 276 soil samples from 92 locations covering an area of 1,000 km2. We were surprised to find a low Hg content in soil (range 1-59 μg kg-1) and 50 % of samples with a concentration lower than 6 μg kg-1. The influence of mercury emissions from the four coal-fired power plants on soil was poor or virtually nil. We associate this effect with low Hg contents in the coal (1.5-24.5 μg kg-1) used in the combustion of these power plants (one of the most Hg-poor in the world). Despite anthropic activity in the area, we conclude that Hg content in the agricultural soils of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin is present in low concentrations. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 2023-02-20T07:27:36Z 2023-02-20T07:27:36Z 2014 artículo Environmental Science and Pollution Research 21: 10205-10214 (2014) 0944-1344 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/3805 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/292306 10.1007/s11356-014-2873-0 1614-7499 en none Springer |
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Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution |
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Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution Rodríguez Martín, José Antonio Nanos, N. Grigoratos, T. Carbonell, G. Samara, C. Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
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Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that is emitted to the atmosphere through human activities, mainly fossil fuel combustion. Hg accumulations in soil are associated with atmospheric deposition, while coal-burning power plants remain the most important source of anthropogenic mercury emissions. In this study, we analyzed the Hg concentration in the topsoil of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin where four coal-fired power plants (4,065 MW) run to provide 50 % of electricity in Greece. The study aimed to investigate the extent of soil contamination by Hg using geostatistical techniques to evaluate the presumed Hg enrichment around the four power plants. Hg variability in agricultural soils was evaluated using 276 soil samples from 92 locations covering an area of 1,000 km2. We were surprised to find a low Hg content in soil (range 1-59 μg kg-1) and 50 % of samples with a concentration lower than 6 μg kg-1. The influence of mercury emissions from the four coal-fired power plants on soil was poor or virtually nil. We associate this effect with low Hg contents in the coal (1.5-24.5 μg kg-1) used in the combustion of these power plants (one of the most Hg-poor in the world). Despite anthropic activity in the area, we conclude that Hg content in the agricultural soils of the Kozani-Ptolemais basin is present in low concentrations. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. |
format |
artículo |
topic_facet |
Heavy metals Soil mercury enriched Coal-fired power plants Mercury deposition Geostatistics Atmospheric pollution |
author |
Rodríguez Martín, José Antonio Nanos, N. Grigoratos, T. Carbonell, G. Samara, C. |
author_facet |
Rodríguez Martín, José Antonio Nanos, N. Grigoratos, T. Carbonell, G. Samara, C. |
author_sort |
Rodríguez Martín, José Antonio |
title |
Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
title_short |
Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
title_full |
Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
title_fullStr |
Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants Is it always true? |
title_sort |
local deposition of mercury in topsoils around coal-fired power plants is it always true? |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/3805 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/292306 |
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