Preliminary results on the role of rivers in total Hg concentrations in marine sediments and benthic organisms of a coastal area of Italy

The paper reports the results of mercury (Hg) concentrations in the <20 μm grain-size fraction of shallow sediments of the northern Tyrrhenian sea, collected near the mouths of rivers flowing down from the Monte Amiata area (central Italy), which is characterized by cinnabar mineralization which was developped as mercury mine in the past. A few species of benthic marine organisms collected in the sediment sampling area were also analyzed. From the results, it emerged that the rivers contribute to the Hg concentration in the marine sediments which already contain high natural Hg background levels. The benthic organisms, which reflect sediment contamination, showed high Hg concentrations as well.