A more potent form of the pollutant mercury was found in sea ice in the Southern Ocean, which is near the Arctic, posing potential harm to marine life in the habitat, new research from the University of Melbourne revealed.
The neurotoxin, called methylmercury, could cause developmental problems in infants and fetuses when ingested.
Researchers found that bacteria present in the ice converts mercury contaminants in the ocean to this more potent form of neurotoxin.
According to the international team of scientists, led by Caitlin Gionfriddo, the contaminant gets into the human food chain through a process called “biomagnification” where larger fish eat smaller contaminated fish, so that methylmercury accumulates at harmful levels, until it gets to the food table for human consumption.
The mercury present in the environment comes from natural occurrences such as volcanic eruptions and bush fires; and human activity such as gold smelting and burning fossil fuels.
Thus, the findings emphasize the need to eliminate mercury pollution from the environment and limit the consumption of certain types of fish.
“Mercury has a long lifecycle in the atmosphere, up to a year,” co-author Dr Robyn Schofield observed. “This means that mercury released through fossil fuel burning from countries over 3000 km away goes up in the atmosphere and ends up in Antarctica.”
