Mercury concentrations in Kayeli Bay, Buru Island of Indonesia: The update of possible effect of land-based gold mining

Abstract

Since late 2011 mercury has been used to extract the gold requiring in artisanal gold mining in Mt. Botak (Buru Island) and resulting in deposition of mercury into Kayeli Bay. In this project, we reported the updated total mercury (THg) concentration in marine sediment and nine species of domersal fish from Kayeli Bay. Nine coastal sampling sites were selected in the Kayeli Bay by purposive sampling. The fish are collected from a traditional market in Buru Island. The total mercury (THg) concentrations in marine sediment were found in all sites, ranging from 0.035 to 4.802 in mg.kg-1 DW). The THg concentrations in sediments from all sites measured were found has exceeded to those shown in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) value. Among fish, the highest THg concentration of 1.667 mg.kg-1 was measured in the muscle species Myripristis kuntee and the lowest THg concentration detected for Lutjanus Lutjanus (0.016 mg.kg-1 DW). The distribution of total mercury (THg) concentrations found in the marine sediment of Kayeli Bay shows a very closed relationship to the artisanal gold mining activity in Mt Botak.