A preliminary assessment of mercury, methylmercury and other potentially toxic elements in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the Almadén mining district

Abstract

The food chain of the Valdezogues River system is at considerable risk due to the presence of mercury in the environment and to intense bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes in some fish species, particularly in piscivorous. Moreover, the presence of mercury in fish is a reliable indicator of the presence of its most toxic form, methylmercury. Of interest is that selenium, when present together with mercury in food, represents a significant decrease in the risks related to the ingestion of methylmercury. This study presents the concentrations of total mercury, methylmercury, selenium, and other elements in Micropterus salmoides from a transect of the Valdeazogues River. This water course cuts across the Almadén mining district, which has been the most important producer of this element for over 2000 years. Results highlight the highest total- and methylmercury concentrations ranging between 0.47 and 7.61 mg kg−1 ww for total mercury, and with methylmercury representing between 79.7 and 92.1% of total mercury. These are the highest concentrations in the element ever found in this species. Seven sampling sites were examined along a 34 km long transect of the river, starting at an open pit lake corresponding to a decommissioned Hg mine (El Entredicho open pit, isolated from the river course), with the rest of the sites located downstream. Concentrations of mercury are the highest in this open pit lake and decrease steadily downstream. Concentrations of selenium are also high to very high, ranging between < 2.5 and 11.4 mg kg−1 ww. The Se/Hg molar ratio, as well as the HBVSe index, show values indicating low risk, except for specimens of low size/age from the most highly Hg contaminated site considered in this study. The rest of the potentially toxic elements (Se, As, Pb, Zn, Sb and Cu) show no concerning values even though the area is heavily populated with decommissioned polymetallic mines.