Honda Bay is considered as one of the mercury hotspots in the world due to its proximity to the abandoned Palawan Quicksilver Mine. In this study, a detailed sediment sampling conducted in between 2021 and 2022 where a total of 166 sediment samples were collected along the coast and analyzed for total mercury (THg) concentration. The study assessed mercury toxicity using the geoaccumulation index and compared Hg levels to sediment quality guidelines. The findings revealed a wide range of THg concentrations, from 0.0040 to 11.4702 mg/kg, with hotspots identified at the Honda Bay wharf and Tagburos River mouth. Mercury spreads to a large coastal area brought by tidal currents and the wave energy actions. The geoaccumulation index indicated moderate to strong Hg contamination in the vicinity of the hotspots and around 24.7–36.1 % of samples exceeded the sediment quality guidelines suggesting adverse biological effects in aquatic biota will frequently occur.

中文翻译：

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菲律宾巴拉望岛本田湾沿岸沉积物中总汞的分布


本田湾因其靠近废弃的巴拉望水银矿而被认为是世界上汞热点地区之一。在这项研究中，我们在 2021 年至 2022 年间进行了详细的沉积物采样，沿海岸总共收集了 166 个沉积物样本，并分析了总汞 (THg) 浓度。该研究使用地累积指数评估了汞的毒性，并将汞含量与沉积物质量指南进行了比较。研究结果显示 THg 浓度范围很广，从 0.0040 到 11.4702 mg/kg，热点地区是本田湾码头和塔格布罗斯河口。水星因潮流和波浪能作用而扩散到大片沿海地区。地累积指数表明热点附近存在中度至重度汞污染，约 24.7-36.1% 的样品超出了沉积物质量指南，表明水生生物群中经常会发生不利的生物效应。