Mercury Enrichment in Sediments of the Coastal Area of Northern Latium, Italy

This is the accepted manuscript of the paper "Mercury Enrichment in Sediments of the Coastal Area of Northern Latium, Italy", published as final paper in "Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 03/2016; 96(4);DOI:10.1007/s00128-016-1776-9" Scanu S, Piazzolla D, Manfredi Frattarelli F, Mancini E, Tiralongo F, Brundo MV, Tibullo D, Pecoraro R, Copat C, Ferrante M, Marcelli M. “Mercury Enrichment in Sediments of the Coastal Area of Northern Latium, Italy”. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 03/2016; 96(4) DOI 10.1007/s00128-016-1776-9. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of the Hg geochemical anomaly arising in the Amiata and Tolfa complex to the coastal area of northern Latium and to examine the possible influence on this area by the Mignone River, and by the small coastal basins, which are characterized by both previous mining activities and decades of past industrial impact. The results confirm the extension of the anomaly of concentrations of Hg in the coastal area of northern Latium, with the northern sector influenced by the contributions of the Fiora and Mignone Rivers and the southern sector influenced by the contributions of minor basins. The results show high values of the Adverse Effect Index throughout the considered area and highlight the need for further investigation in order to assess the impact of human activities on the present and past values of Hg in marine sediments.