Beyond the natural mercury emission to the atmosphere,
the anthropogenic contribution mainly as Hg(II) has
increased; consequently, the mercury content in natural
waters increased as well. The main part of Hg(II) rapidly
attaches to particulates in suspension found in water
bodies, and then is deposited in sediments where covalent
molecules are formed, such as HgCl
24 and CH3Hg
+
; the
latter forms dimethylmercury [Hg(CH3
)2
], a molecular vol