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applegrove

(118,022 posts)
Mon Mar 5, 2018, 10:25 PM Mar 2018

World's largest deposit of mercury is in permafrost, study suggests

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/north/permafrost-mercury-north-1.4562596

Jackie Mackay at CBC News

"SNIP........


The amount of mercury in permafrost regions is 10 times higher than mercury introduced to the atmosphere from burning coal over the last 30 years, Schaefer said.

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Mercury can be dangerous to humans and animals when it's in the form of methylmercury. It is unknown how much methylmercury is trapped in the permafrost and is leaching out.

When microbes eat organic matter that contains methylmercury they absorb the mercury. Then, it passes up the food chain.

Mercury toxicity can cause neurological problems such as motor impairment and birth defects.



.........SNIP"
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