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Abstract
Mercury is a naturally occurring heavy metal that has also been associated with anthropogenic sources such as cement production or hydrocarbon extraction. Mercury is a contaminant of concern as it can have a significant negative impact on organismal health when ingested. In aquatic environments, it bioaccumulates up the foodweb, where it then has the potential to impact human health. With the offshore hydrocarbon platforms in the North Sea nearing decommissioning, they must be assessed as a potential source for the environmental release of mercury. International treaties govern the handling of materials placed in the ocean. Studies have assessed the ecologic and economic benefits of (partial) in situ abandonment of the infrastructure as artificial reefs. This can be applied to pipelines after substantial cleaning to remove mercury accumulation from the inner surface. This work outlines the application of an approach to modelling marine mercury bioaccumulation for decommissioning scenarios in the North Sea. Here, in situ decommissioning of cleaned pipelines was unlikely to have a negative impact on the North Sea food web or human health. However, significant knowledge gaps have been determined, which must be addressed before all negative impacts on ecosystems and organismal health can be excluded.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 230943 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Royal Society Open Science |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 13 Mar 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Open Access via the Royal Society agreementR.v.H. and A.H. are funded by the Net Zero Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen, through their partnership with the UK National Decommissioning Centre. R.v.H. received funding from the University of Aberdeen under the interdisciplinary project funding in 2022.The research by A.H. was also undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre research programme (UKERC-4, EP/S029575/1).
Data Availability Statement
Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7095868.Keywords
- Contaminant modelling
- Ecopath with Ecosim
- Food standards for Mercury
- Estimated weekly intake
- Hazard quotient
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'An approach to assessing subsea pipeline-associated mercury release into the North Sea and its potential environmental and human health impact'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Activities
- 4 Presentation
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Mercury in the North Sea
Rebecca von Hellfeld (Speaker)
8 May 2023 → 12 May 2023Activity: Disseminating Research › Presentation
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Mercury from offshore pipelines in the food web - Human health and environmental risk
Rebecca von Hellfeld (Speaker)
7 Sept 2022Activity: Disseminating Research › Presentation
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Mercury in the marine food webs - From pipeline to human
Rebecca von Hellfeld (Speaker)
7 Jun 2022Activity: Disseminating Research › Presentation