汞(Hg)是一种有毒金属,容易以气体或颗粒形式释放到大气中。由于汞对人体接触有严重的健康影响,这是它积累的一个主要问题。佛罗里达州南部是美国汞高沉积的地区。它已经进入佛罗里达州南部的环境超过56MY。在过去的3000到8000年里,汞在大沼泽地的泥炭地积累,其中沉积了约42.3公吨汞。沉积在大沼泽地的前工业汞来源来自大气,由撒哈拉灰尘和海洋逃避组成。排水和大沼泽地的农业发展,和其他混合土地用途导致泥炭数量减少了65.7%,因此,在大约133年的时间内向佛罗里达州南部的环境释放了大约28公吨的汞。自然和人为火灾都促进了汞的释放。目前,佛罗里达州南部环境中汞的释放范围在994.9至1249千克/年之间。目前进入佛罗里达环境的汞的最大来源是大气综合来源,包括撒哈拉沙漠的灰尘,气溶胶,海洋喷雾,和海洋通量/规避为257.1-514.2千克/年。大沼泽地泥炭地和大火中汞的再动员量约为215千克/年。其他主要贡献者包括废物转化为能源焚化炉(204.1千克/年),医疗废物和火化焚化炉(159.7+千克/年),和水泥厂烟囱排放(150.6公斤/年)。少量排放包括机动车辆的燃料排放,垃圾填埋场的气体排放,沥青路面,和可能的其他人。没有关于糖业大沼泽地受控火灾的数据,这与汞对环境的整体泥炭地损失有关。汞影响了佛罗里达州南部的野生动物,记录了鱼类的过量浓度,鸟,和顶级捕食者。汞在动物中的生物积累导致通过法规(最大总负荷)以减少对野生动植物的影响,并向消费者发出警告,以避免食用被认为受到污染的鱼类。尚未对佛罗里达州南部大气汞的沉积进行充分研究,以确定其影响最大的地方。在最近的一项研究中,发现汞在自然环境中积聚在柳树的叶子上。在佛罗里达州南部,尚未进行有关对人类健康的潜在影响的重要研究,应该根据降雨中汞的高沉降率和已知的含高浓度汞的有机沉积物的回收来启动。
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that is easily released into the atmosphere as a gas or a particulate. Since Hg has serious health impacts based on human exposure, it is a major concern where it accumulates. Southern Florida is a region of high Hg deposition in the United States. It has entered the southern Florida environment for over 56 MY. For the past 3000 to 8000 years, Hg has accumulated in the
Everglades peatlands, where approximately 42.3 metric tons of Hg was deposited. The pre-industrial source of mercury that was deposited into the
Everglades was from the atmosphere, consisting of combined Saharan dust and marine evasion. Drainage and the development of the
Everglades for agriculture, and other mixed land uses have caused a 65.7% reduction in the quantity of peat, therefore releasing approximately 28 metric tons of Hg into the southern Florida environment over a period of approximately 133 years. Both natural and man-made fires have facilitated the Hg release. The current range in mercury release into the southern Florida environment lies between 994.9 and 1249 kg/yr. The largest source of Hg currently entering the Florida environment is from combined atmospheric sources, including Saharan dust, aerosols, sea spray, and ocean flux/evasion at 257.1-514.2 kg/yr. The remobilization of Hg from the
Everglades peatlands and fires is approximately 215 kg/yr. Other large contributors include waste to energy incinerators (204.1 kg/yr), medical waste and crematory incinerators (159.7+ kg/yr), and cement plant stack discharge (150.6 kg/yr). Minor emissions include fuel emissions from motorized vehicles, gas emissions from landfills, asphalt plants, and possible others. No data are available on controlled fires in the
Everglades in sugar farming, which is lumped with the overall peatland loss of Hg to the environment. Hg has impacted wildlife in southern Florida with recorded excess concentrations in fish, birds, and apex predators. This bioaccumulation of Hg in animals led to the adoption of regulations (total maximum loads) to reduce the impacts on wildlife and warnings were given to consumers to avoid the consumption of fish that are considered to be contaminated. The deposition of atmospheric Hg in southern Florida has not been studied sufficiently to ascertain where it has had the greatest impacts. Hg has been found to accumulate on willow tree leaves in a natural environment in one recent study. No significant studies of the potential impacts on human health have been conducted in southern Florida, which should be started based on the high rates of Hg fallout in rainfall and known recycling for organic sediments containing high concentrations of Hg.