Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) using mercury (Hg) amalgamation commenced on Buru Island, Indonesia, in 2012, but was halted in 2015 due to concerns of widespread Hg contamination. Much of the Hg used in the mining process is lost to trommel waste which is disposed of in settlement ponds that drain into adjacent waterways and into Kayeli Bay. Several thousand unmanaged trommel sites and associated tailing ponds exist on Buru Island. This study shows that waste from the Marloso trommel at the Gogrea site contained 203 mg/kg total Hg (THg), with a negligible proportion present as bioavailable methyl Hg (MeHg) and a low total organic carbon content. There are currently very few tools available for ecotoxicological risk assessment of mine tailings for tropical marine ecosystems, and we support the development of Tailings Toxicity Tests (TTTs) and describe laboratory toxicity test methods using the cosmopolitan benthic echinoderm Amphipholis squamata. Undiluted trommel waste caused 100% mortality of A. squamata within 48 h, and a 96-h LC50 of 6.7% w/w trommel waste (4 mg/kg THg) was estimated. Sub-lethal effects on the water vascular system of the brittle star were assessed by quantification of the Ability to Right Itself (ARI), and a 48-h EC50 of 7.3% w/w trommel waste (14.4 mg/kg THg) was estimated. The results show that trommel waste produced on Buru Island is highly contaminated with THg and is acutely toxic, raising serious concern for receiving ecosystems where Hg methylation to more toxic and bioavailable forms is likely.

中文翻译：

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印度尼西亚Buru岛上的手工矿山废料的特征及其对脆性星状两栖类鱼类的毒性

2012年，在印度尼西亚的布鲁岛开始了使用汞（Hg）混合的手工小规模金矿开采（ASGM），但由于对汞污染的广泛担忧，2015年停止了手工金矿开采。采矿过程中使用的大部分汞都流失到了筛板废料中，这些废料被丢弃在排入相邻水道和凯利湾的定居池中。Buru岛上有数千个未经管理的筛网站点和相关的尾矿池。这项研究表明，Marloso滚筒筛产生的废物Gogrea站点的总Hg（THg）含量为203 mg / kg，可生物利用的甲基Hg（MeHg）含量可忽略不计，总有机碳含量较低。目前，很少有工具可用于热带海洋生态系统矿山尾矿的生态毒理学风险评估，我们支持尾矿毒性测试（TTTs）的开发，并描述了使用国际底栖棘皮动物两栖类鳞片的实验室毒性测试方法。未稀释的滚筒筛废物在48小时内导致鳞球菌死亡100％，96小时LC50为6.7％w / w滚筒筛估计浪费（4 mg / kg THg）。通过对自身的能力（ARI）进行量化，评估了对脆性恒星水血管系统的亚致死作用，并估算了7.3％w / w的筛卷废料（14.4 mg / kg THg）的48小时EC50值。结果表明，在布卢岛上生产的铁锹废料受到THg的高度污染，并且具有剧毒，引起了人们对接收汞可能甲基化为更具毒性和生物利用性的生态系统的严重关注。