Monitoreo ambiental de mercurio en zonas mineras artesanales y zonas urbanas de Costa Rica, y acciones para la mitigación de su impacto ambiental

Mercury is a recognized neurotoxin that affects the learning capabilities of infants and produces irreversible damage to the central nervous system. It is a global pollutant, frequently monitored by several countries in the ocean and the atmosphere. Gaseous mercury monitoring in the atmosphere is a complex task due to its wide dispersion, but it is of great importance because air is not only a potential route of exposure for different living species, but also an exchange matrix from which mercury could be introduced into the trophic chain. A novel technique for gaseous mercury monitoring is passive air sampling (PAS). PAS requires the design and installation of a selective device for mercury binding when air circulates inside. Other research groups have worked on the design and environmental calibration of PAS, including a group from the University of Toronto, Canada. Their PAS design uses a sorbent composed of vegetable carbon covered by a bonded sulfur phase selective for mercury. Globally, there are several efforts to control mercury exposure through enforcement of the Minamata Convention (signed by the Costa Rican government in October 2013 and ratified by Congress in November 2016). It became Law 9391 in 2016. The Directorate of Environmental Management and Quality (DIGECA) of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) is the central government office responsible for its implementation. DIGECA has noted the relevance of mercury monitoring in Costa Rica, which is currently nonexistent. Therefore, this proposal aims to contribute both with the relevant data required by DIGECA for compliance with the Minamata Convention and with the baseline required to establish a future mercury emissions reduction plan. A mercury emissions inventory conducted by MINAE indicates the importance of environmental monitoring of emissions from artisanal gold mining, fossil fuels, and volcanic activity. UNEP considers artisan gold mining to be the second largest source of environmental mercury, the first being charcoal burning. Meanwhile, a minor source is the burning of other fossil fuels, followed by volcanic emissions. This proposal aims to study gaseous mercury emissions from artisanal gold mining in different regions of the country and its potential correlation to mercury in surface water. Additionally, it aims to study gaseous mercury in an urban area to determine the possible contribution emitted from fuel combustion. This proposal is currently an ongoing project, with CASIO as a partner of UNEP for the Minamata Convention in the first year. The requested support from VIE is required for the second and third years (2020 and 2021). The University of Toronto will provide the PAS samplers and their chemical analysis. Meanwhile, our research group at TEC will conduct a study on the nearby water surface, as well as the deployment, surveillance, and shipping of the samplers to Canada. The results of this research will be the first study on environmental gaseous mercury available in Costa Rica, with the expectation that it will become a reality.

The baseline towards the establishment of a continuous monitoring plan and defining actions to control mercury emissions and next steps. In addition, the resulting data on mercury emissions will be available to the scientific community and to DIGECA-MINAE as feedback to coordinate a workshop on the current mercury situation in Costa Rica

Desarrollar un plan estratégico para la mitigación del impacto ambiental del
mercurio mediante la determinación de su concentración total en agua, aire y sedimentos en tres zonas mineras y una zona urbana de Costa Rica.

(CEQIATEC) Evaluación y seguimiento de contaminantes químicos y microbiológicos