Coal-related elements are toxic and persistent pollutants that have spread globally since the industrial revolution, mainly from point-source emissions. A sediment core was collected from Deep Lake in northeastern Washington State (USA) by the Washington State Department of Ecology, with the aim of assessing recent changes in atmospheric deposition in the US Pacific Northwest. The core was divided into depth intervals and dated by lead-210. A sample from each cross section was digested and analyzed for toxic metals and metalloids using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Data show recent increases in the concentrations of arsenic, barium, selenium, and mercury. Comparison with 1993 US Geological Survey ice core data from the Upper Fremont Glacier in Wyoming (USA), Asian coal consumption data, and weather patterns suggests that pollutant inputs to Deep Lake sediments are the result of coal-burning activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Most notably, mercury deposition in Deep Lake has increased from approximately 20 ppb in 1996 to 9470 ppb in 2014 (an ~400-fold increase), and since 1993 when the ice core was analyzed. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:335-342. © 2019 SETAC.

中文翻译：

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1950年至2016年美国西北太平洋地区与煤有关的污染物的大气沉降。

自工业革命以来，与煤炭有关的元素是有毒和持久性污染物，主要从点源排放中扩散到全球。华盛顿州生态部从华盛顿州东北部（美国）的深湖中收集了一个沉积物岩心，目的是评估美国太平洋西北部地区大气沉积物的最新变化。岩心被分为多个深度区间，并以铅210标注了日期。消化来自每个横截面的样品，并使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法分析有毒金属和类金属。数据显示，砷，钡，硒和汞的浓度最近有所增加。与1993年美国怀俄明州上弗里蒙特冰川的美国地质调查局冰芯数据，亚洲煤炭消耗量数据的比较，而且天气模式表明，向深湖沉积物的污染物输入是亚太地区燃煤活动的结果。最值得注意的是，自1993年分析冰芯以来，深湖中的汞沉积量已从1996年的约20 ppb增加到2014年的9470 ppb（增长了约400倍）。Environ Toxicol Chem 2020; 39：335-342。©2019 SETAC。