Final Extended Abstract of Mercury on the Soil Presentation (Essay Sample)

Name
Unit’s Name
Instructor’s name
Date
Final Extended Abstract of Mercury on the Soil Presentation
Summary of Mercury as a Contaminant
Mercury is among the fatal metallic contaminants that have raised many questions to the environmental conservationists and pollution control agencies. The carcinogenic content in mercury possesses threats to living creatures as a whole. Mercury metal is categorized among the heavy metals in the universe that are fatal to human life. It is possible that the only way Mercury metal effect can be felt is through a process of tracing down the path it takes from the time it is released to the soil to how it finds its way to the people’s body (Duncan et al. E2-E2). Environmental agencies have taken a different path that has made it possible to realize the environmental pollution of the mercury metal.
Most of the mercury contamination that is evident in the environment is as a result of industrial effluent that is released to the environment with the high content of mercury. The step that follows is that the runoffs leak the mercury to the water bodies (YIN and TU pp1-28). The water rich in mercury in the lakes and rivers is a significant threat to the aquatic life even though it may seem insignificant in the first place. Some of the mercury will be absorbed into the body of the aquatic animals, and consequently, it will be transferred to the human body through aquatic animal consumption. Some of the mercury will leak into the soil and end up into plants that are either consumed by herbivores or people. The chain of mercury transfer from the original spot to human body continues through consumption. Aquatic organisms are also consumed by aquatic birds that continue to facilitate the mercury transfer. Mercury ends up into the human body and hence the disastrous impacts it posts in the long run.
Basic Processes Controlling the Fate of Mercury as a Soil Contaminant
Mercury contamination in the soil is as a result of the emissions and deposition that may be containing a high content of the heavy metal. The reason why mercury remains for long in the soils and end up to bioaccumulation is that it has a low solubility in the real sense. The solubility rate of mercury is one of the element’s traits that cause its long-term effects in the long run. Various processes have led to the mercury accumulation in the soil. The process that leads to the activation of mercury into the ground is due to the deposition side exhibits low PH an element that influences the level of mercury absorption in the ground (YIN and TU pp1-28). One of the primary reasons why mercury absorption is higher in the waste dumpsite is because the areas are endowed with low PH due to the properties of the wastes at the point of initiation.
The process of methylation is an essential stage that allows for the deposition of mercury and its absorption. The bacteria create an enabling environment for the generation of an active form that is easy to enter the plant systems and the other organisms in the soil in the start of the process (YIN and TU pp1-28). The initial process in the methylation stage allows for the realization of the different elements that are allowed to get adsorbed in the Sulfide and sulfate ions and hence the conversion of the inactive mercury to a more active form that will be easily moved in the mercury chain.
Demethylation also takes place in the soil where the process of methylation is reversed and hence the detachment of methane from the mercury ions. The process is the one that makes the mercury ions available in the soil and water leading to the bioaccumulation process. The bioaccumulation process is in a way that the mercury ions enter the body of aquatic organisms and hence the high content in the aged fish.
...