ENVIRONMENTAL RELAXATION IN RESPONSE TO REDUCED CONTAMINANT INPUT - THE CASE OF MERCURY POLLUTION IN HAIFA BAY, ISRAEL

Environmental relaxation, defined as the rate of return of a polluted environment to an acceptable state following a reduction in the input of contamination, was evaluated for the case of mercury pollution in n orthern Haifa Bay (Israel) on the basis of the longterm record of merc ury levels in sediment cores and biota, Mercury was found to decrease with a half-time of 2, 5 and 6-33 years in filter-feeding bivalves, fi sh and sediments, respectively, after the influx of mercury into the a rea (from a chlor-alkali plant) was drastically reduced, The present l evels of mercury in edible fish do not represent a risk to human healt h, The removal of mercury from the sediments is probably by particle r esuspension and subsequent seaward transport, Although the mercury con centrations in the sediments will probably remain above background for a long time, the associated ecological risk does not appear to be hig h. It is concluded that evaluations of the environmental relaxation of different types of ecosystems, with respect to various contaminants, may provide important input to decision-making on marine waste disposa l. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd