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...conducting innovative research for the Mining Industry! |
The Centre for Environmental Research in Minerals, Metals, and Materials |
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September, 2002.
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Bioindicators of Pollution
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Developing a Bio-Indicator Protocol for Mercury Pollution from Informal Mining Operations
Jennifer Hinton, Graduate Student, Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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Marcello Veiga, Assistant Professor of Mining Engineering
Background
Metal pollutants enter the aquatic environment via a variety of pathways. In some cases the levels of metal are sufficient to cause significant damage to organisms and to enter the food chain. However, in other cases, similar levels do cause problems because of synergetic beneficial effects or site specific factors in the specific environment.
While conventional wisdom is to set the regulatory levels of according to concentration of a species, a better approach might be to relate the level according to the ability of the local environment to bioaccumulate the metal. In some cases this might allow an increase in the required concentration while in other cases, it might involve decreasing the level.
For a detailed presentation on bioindicators for mercury, click here.
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Email: cerm3@mining.ubc.ca
Copyright © 2002 Centre for Environmental Research in Minerals, Metals, and Materials. All rights reserved.
Permission is given to reproduce all or any of the contained materials provided due credit is given to CERM3 as the source.
Revised: September 28, 2002.
