Mercury Pollution in The Aquatic System Near of Urban Artisanal Gold Mining (UAGM) Activity in) Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Urban Artisanal Gold Mining (UAGM) in
Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been run by a number of
goldsmiths with gold jewelry manufacture as its core activity. The
urban artisanal gold mining process has been existing and also using
mercury in the process of gold production. The amalgamation,
smelting, and refining are the processes in which Hg may release into
the environment. This research aimed to assess Hg environmental
pollution in the Tello river near the UAGM area. In UAGM workers
use drainage or canal to discharge waste from their tailing reservoirs
or some of them directly discharge to drainage. The results showed
that the Hg concentration in the drainage sediment was found very
high in the spot C3 and C7, reaching 627 and 79 μg/g, respectively.
On the other drainage spots, mercury concentration average 16 μg/g
(0–30.5 μg/g). On the other hand, the canal sediments in the inside
UAGM site showed an elevated concentration of heavy metals due
to contaminant enrichment. This is because the discharged wastes
taken from the goldsmith’s area were already contaminated by heavy
metals. This was because burning goldsmith’s wastes were
commonly conducted in an open space using kerosene, gasoline, or
firewood as a fuel. The aquatic system such as rivers, fishponds, and
beaches have been polluted by heavy metals. This is due to heavy
metals in the tailing of UAGM flow and contaminates the river and
fishpond around it.