Yayasan Bina Cipta AquaTech
Provincial Environment Management Board of North Sulawesi, Manado Indonesia
International Coastal Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo
Center for International Cooperation, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo
Sam Ratulangi University
抄録
Gold mining in the Ratatotok area has a long history going back to the activity of a Dutch company, Nederland Mynbouw Maschapai in the years 1887 to 1922. After about 60 years latter, artisanal or small groups of local community started to seek their fortune in the gold mining using techniques learned from the Dutch company, consisting of gold vein tunnels and mercury amalgamation processing. In the 1990s an American company, PT. Newmont Minahasa Raya obtained a gold mining concession in a part of this area. This company uses advanced technologies such as open pit mining, cyanidation processing, detoxification of sludge, and a sub-marine tailing system. While the problems of mercury emissions from artisanal gold mining have been well studied in much of the world, little has been written about the state of mercury pollution in this area. It is vital to understand how the situation has affected the surrounding aquatic environment, because fish is the main protein source and income for the local community. This study has been carried out with aims of determing the influence of mercury emissions from artisanal gold mining activity upon the surrounding aquatic environment. Research included total mercury determination in water, sediment, and fish samples taken along the impacted Totok River. Total mercury determinations were accomplished using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer employing cold vapor generation. As a result, high concentrations of mercury in sediment and fish meat has been noted. The water samples showed only small amounts of mercury. In sediment, mercury contents were seen to increase at deeper layers, reaching up 40mg/kg dry weight. The analysis of fish meat samples showed that the mercury the range from 0.08 mg/kg in pelagic fish to 0.89 mg/kg in bivalve. The present findings demonstrate that a more comprehensive monitoring of the presence of mercury in fish taken in the area of Totok Bay in order to better mitigate this problem.
雑誌名
Coastal marine science
巻
29
号
1
ページ
69 - 74
発行年
2004-04-30
ISSN
13493000
書誌レコードID
AA11957899
フォーマット
application/pdf
日本十進分類法
452
出版者
International Coastal Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo
出版者別名
東京大学海洋研究所国際沿岸海洋研究センター
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Artisanal gold mining related mercury pollution in Ratatotok area of North Sulawesi, Indonesia
KJ00004098942.pdf
(988.63KB)
