Mercury-Selenium Association in Antarctic Seal Hairs and Animal Excrements over the Past 1,500 Years

摘要

@@The ability of selenium (Se) to reduce or even neutralize the toxicity of Hg was demonstrated in experimental animals by Ganther et al. (1972).Recently,Arai et al.(2004) reported the chemical forms of mercury accumulated in marine mammals and seabirds as a Se-Hg complex,as determined by X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Analysis. There was a remarkable positive correlation between mercury (Hg) and Se contents in different animals,such as fish,marine mammals,and birds (CuvinAralar et al.,1991). Our objective was to explore the association between Hg and Se in the Antarctic animals on a large time scale.In this study we analyzed the concentrations of total Hg and Se in the Antarctic seal hairs spanning the past 1,500 years and in the four lake sediments amended by seal or penguin excrements.