Title |
Spatial Distribution of Mercury and Arsenic Levels in Water, Soil and Cassava Plants in a Community with Long History of Gold Mining in Tanzania
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Published in |
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, June 2014
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DOI | 10.1007/s00128-014-1315-5 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Elias C. Nyanza, Deborah Dewey, Deborah S. K. Thomas, Mark Davey, Sospatro E. Ngallaba |
Abstract |
This study examined the spatial distribution of total mercury (THg) and total arsenic (TAs) in water, soil and cassava (Manihot esculenta) (leaves and roots) samples taken from areas in Rwamagasa village in northwestern Tanzania where daily living activities occur in close proximity to extensive artisanal and small scale gold mining. Results indicated that 33.3 % of the water sources had THg levels above the WHO guideline of 1.0 µg/L for safe drinking water, and 12.5 % had TAs levels above 10 µg/L. Cassava leaves were found to have higher THg (ranging from 8.3 to 167 µg/kg) and TAs (ranging from 60 to 1,120 µg/kg) levels than cassava roots, which ranged between 1.2-8.3 µg/kg for THg and 25-310 µg/kg for TAs. Concentrations of THg and TAs in soil samples ranged between 5.8-1,759 and 183-20,298 µg/kg, respectively. Both THg and TAs were found to be distributed throughout Rwamagasa village. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 2 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Spain | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 89 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Student > Ph. D. Student | 18 | 20% |
Student > Master | 14 | 16% |
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 11% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 6% |
Researcher | 5 | 6% |
Other | 15 | 17% |
Unknown | 23 | 26% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
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Environmental Science | 18 | 20% |
Chemistry | 10 | 11% |
Social Sciences | 8 | 9% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 6 | 7% |
Other | 14 | 16% |
Unknown | 26 | 29% |