Acute ecotoxicological effects of Hg(CN) 2 in Danio rerio (zebrafish).

Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9885956 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-3017 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09639292 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ecotoxicology Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 1999- : Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers
Original Publication: London : Chapman & Hall,

Zebrafish* ; Mercury*/toxicity ; Mercury*/analysis; Animals ; Ecotoxicology ; Gold ; Cyanides/toxicity ; Environmental Monitoring

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest source of anthropogenic Hg emissions on the planet. In addition, Hg-contaminated tailings are often reprocessed with sodium cyanide (NaCN) to extract the residual gold remaining in the material. This leads to the formation of mercury cyanide (Hg(CN) 2 ) complexes, which are often discharged in untreated form into local drainages, leading to large amounts of free cyanide being released. However, data on mercury-cyanide interactions are scarce. In this study, we investigated the impact of cyanide and Hg bioavailability in zebrafish when added as Hg(CN) 2 . Different concentrations of Hg(CN) 2 and NaCN were used, leading to an LC 50 of 0.53 mg.L ^-1 for NaCN and 0.16 mg.L ^-1 for Hg(CN) 2 . Analyzing free cyanide concentrations in aquarium water, >40% dissociation was observed for NaCN and about 5% for Hg(CN) 2 . The accumulation of total Hg (THg) in the brain, gills, muscle and kidney was quantified. All fish exposed to Hg(CN) 2 had higher THg levels than their controls and kidney was the tissue with higher Hg(CN) 2 accumulation. Histological effects on the kidney and gills of both cyanides in D. rerio tissues were investigated, suggesting renal alterations in fish exposed to Hg(CN) 2 and showing hyperplasia in the gills of animals exposed to NaCN and Hg(CN) 2 . The results alert to the risks of the presence of these complexes in aquatic environments.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

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Keywords: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining; Mercury cyanide; Small-scale gold mining.; Sodium cyanide; Zebrafish

FXS1BY2PGL (Mercury)
RWG7BD1032 (mercuric cyanide)
7440-57-5 (Gold)
0 (Cyanides)

Date Created: 20230413 Date Completed: 20230522 Latest Revision: 20230522

20231215

10.1007/s10646-023-02651-w

37055677