Assessment of Hg pollution released from a WWII submarine wreck (U-864) by Hg isotopic analysis of sediments and Cancer pagurus tissues

Hg pollution released from the U-864 submarine sunk during WWII and potential introduction of that Hg into the marine food,chain have been studied by a combination of quantitative Hg and MeHg determination and Hg isotopic analysis via cold vapor generation multicollector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (CVG-MC-ICP-MS) in sediment and Cancer pagurus samples. The sediment pollution could be unequivocally linked with the metallic Hg present in the wreck. Crabs were collected at the wreck location and 4 nmi north and south, and their brawn and claw meat were analyzed separately. For brown meat, the delta Hg-202 values of the individuals from the wreck location were shifted toward the isotopic signature of the Sediment and, thus, the submarine Hg. Such differences were not found for claw meat. The isotope ratio results suggest direct ingestion of metallic Hg by C. pagurus but do not offer any proof for any other introduction of the submarine Hg into the marine food chain.

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