Environmental monitoring of Konya region near an abandoned mercury mine in Turkey

Abandoned mines are an important global concern and continue to pose real or potential threats to human safety and health including environmental damage/s. Very few countries had government mine regulation and reclamation policies until the latter part of the century when legal, financial and technical procedures were required for existing mining operations. Mercury is a largely uncontrollable heavy metal contaminant in that it is globally ubiquitous, and environmentally persistent. It occurs at low concentrations in the Earth's crust and readily forms alloys with other metals. It has been used in many products and industrial applications. Therefore, humans are exposed to Hg both occupationally and environmentally. In the 1980s, increasing understanding and awareness of the harmful health and environmental effects of mercury started to greatly outweigh its benefits, and usage began to drop sharply. Non-occupational sources of exposure to Hg include food (methyl Hg compounds, mainly in aquatic organisms) and dental amalgam fillings (metallic Hg). These exposure levels are usually lower than those typically detected in occupational settings. The primary toxicological problem with Hg in aquatic ecosystems is biotic exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg), a highly toxic compound that readily bioaccumulates. MeHg can biomagnify to high concentrations in aquatic food webs, and consumption of fish is the primary pathway for human exposure. In the present study, mercury pollution caused by waste mining was investigated. The present study focused on the environmental effects of the abandoned mercury mines on fish. For this purpose, fishes were collected from two different regions. Group 1; Kurşunlu region in Konya-Sarayönü that the mercury mines had been operated between 1906-1974 and they were closed in 1975.Group 2; Region which is supposed to be cleaned and 5 kms far from the abandoned mercury mine. As a biomarker of environmental exposure the levels of Hg in fish which were collected from these regions, were measured by Atomic Aabsorption Spectroscopy (AAS). In the muscle of fish, the levels of Hg were 0,504± 0,475 (mg/kg) in Group 1 and 0,041± 0,054 (mg/kg) in Group 2. The levels of Hg in Group 1 were approximately twelve times higher than Group 2. Our data suggested that although mercury mine was closed long time ago, (35 years ago) mining waste is still a problem on human and environment health and continues to contaminate the environment. It is essential to set up regulations for the cleaning of mining waste in order to prevent further exposures and to protect human and environmental health.