Pathways for mercury uptake by fish from bed sediments

Abstract

Mercury transfer from bed sediments to freshwater fish was observed 20 days in the laboratory. Organic-rich sediments from the Ottawa River were contaminated with mercuric chloride to produce a total mercury concentration of 1·023 ppm.

Two possible mercury routes from bed sediments to fish were quantitatively evaluated. The concentration of mercury accumulated in fish from bed sediments was nine times higher than that accumulated from water in which mercury had come from bed sediments. The mercury concentration in individual fish varied considerably.