Host: Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management
Mercury (Hg) is a persistent environmental pollutant with high toxicity. In order to understand the fate of Hg in landfill site, core sampling in three positions was conducted in a landfill site. Total Hg were determined by MA2000 system and total microbial DNA was extracted from 0.5 g sample using Extrap Soil DNA Kit Plus ver. 2. So as to understand the co-existing element in the core samples, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was used. In the three positions, the total mercury concentration is presented to be lower than that in deeper places approaching the ground surface, and shows a high concentration between 5-15m. The hgcA and merA genes were detected in the surface layer and the deeper layer, but the merB gene was not detected in the all layers. Fe was detected uniformly in all depth while S existed mainly in 6-9m and 15m depth, both of which are concerning the bacterial activity regarding Hg speciation.
