• Refine Query
  • Source
  • Publication year
  • to
  • Language
  • No language data
  • Tagged with
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Mercury in the Environment: Field Studies from Tampa, Bolivia, And Guyana

Howard, Joniqua A'ja 05 March 2010 (has links)
Tampa (US), Guyana (SA), and Bolivia (SA), are geographically, socially, economically, and politically unique which make them ideal sites to study issues of mercury and sustainability. Mercury’s innate ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems poses a severe threat to both human and environmental health. The most vulnerable populations affected by mercury consumption include coastal communities, children, women of child-bearing age, the indigenous poor and persons with high environmental/occupational exposure factors. Communities in the regions of Florida, Bolivia, and Guyana whose diets are high in fish and are environmentally/occupationally exposed to mercury may be at a higher risk of mercury intoxication, especially in the absence of education on the topic. Mercury loadings in rivers, streams, and mine tailing waters and sediments ranged from 0.9-114 ng/L and 29- 2891 ng/g, respectively; whilst fish mercury loadings were 0.02-1.034 mg/kg wet wt. Although mining sites had the highest mercury sediment and water loadings there were no significant differences when compared to pristine sites in Guyana. Fish loadings above recommended EPA/WHO regulatory limits were observed at all sites and none had signage, informational warnings or educational material available. A pilot study that included four elementary schools in Tampa showed that Water Awareness Research Education (WARE), a community based participatory environmental educational program, is a sustainable solution to addressing issues of mercury exposure.

Page generated in 0.0719 seconds