Mercury Concentrations in Bulk Atmospheric Deposition over the Coast of Rio de Janeiro, Southeast, Brazil

• Main Authors: Lacerda Luiz D., Paraquetti Heloisa Helena M., Rezende Carlos E., Silva Luiz Fernando F., Silva Filho Emanuel V., Marins Rozane V., Ribeiro Mario G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2002-01-01
• Series: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society
• Subjects: mercury; rain water; atmospheric deposition; Rio de Janeiro coastal region
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-50532002000200006

Total Hg concentrations were measured in bulk atmospheric deposition from three sampling stations along the Rio de Janeiro State coast, Southeast, Brazil, from October 1998 to December 1999. Samples were collected at Campos dos Goytacazes, an agriculture center at the North coast; Niterói, an industrialized metropolitan area and at Itacuruçá, a tourist town at the South. Concentrations at Campos average 0.51 ng L-1, ranging from 0.07 to 1.01 ng L-1, and showed a seasonal trend, probably affected by burning of sugar cane plantations in winter. At Niterói, concentrations were highest, averaging 0.73 ng L-1 andranging from 0.06 to 2.95 ng L-1. No pattern of temporal variation was observed and concentration peaks are probably related to industrial emissions. At Itacuruçá, Hg concentrations were below the detection limit of the method (0.02 ng L-1) in 35% of the samples, with an average of 0.24 ng L-1 and ranging from <0.02 to 1.04 ng L-1.