Meagher Laboratory Cytoskelton Research

1. Mercury enters the environment from many natural and anthrophormorphic sources including gold mining, bleaching of paper and textiles and bleach production, agricultural pesticides, burning of coal and medical waste, erosion, and volcanic activity.

2. Metallic Hg(0) enters the atmosphere mainly from biological reduction and has a long (two year) half life until it returns to the earth's surface. Ionic mercury Hg(II) species released into the atmosphere as chemical or particulate species has only an ~two week half life before returning to earth.

3. Methylmercury, produced by native bacteria primarily in rich marsh environments is the most dangerous form of mercury, because it is the most toxic and it is biomagnified to preditors at the tome of long food chains.

An overview of mercury pollution and the geochemical cycle affecting mercury
1. Mercury enters the environment from many natural and anthrophormorphic sources including gold mining, bleaching of paper and textiles and bleach production, agricultural pesticides, burning of coal and medical waste, erosion, and volcanic activity. 2. Metallic Hg(0) enters the atmosphere mainly from biological reduction and has a long (two year) half life until it returns to the earth's surface. Ionic mercury Hg(II) species released into the atmosphere as chemical or particulate species has only an ~two week half life before returning to earth. 3. Methylmercury, produced by native bacteria primarily in rich marsh environments is the most dangerous form of mercury, because it is the most toxic and it is biomagnified to preditors at the tome of long food chains.
	This figure illustrates the bio-geochemical cycle of mercury and production and biomagnification of methylmercury into the food chain. This cycle is key to phytoremediation of mercury. Plants can break the cycle by extracting mercury and/or breaking down methylmerucry.